Chapter Summaries

Plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui enjoys a summer outing with other noblewomen when Jiang Ning and Shan Wanwan approach, staring greedily at her jeweled bracelet.
• The system reveals their past-life story: Jiang and Shan were childhood betrothed, but Jiang married Wenren Luoshui for the wealth and influence her royal family could provide. Wenren unknowingly drank a sterilizing concoction prepared by Jiang’s mother and remained childless.
• After Jiang rose to Minister of War, he helped a rebel army attack the capital. Shan revealed that Jiang intended to divorce Wenren and marry her. Wenren, devastated by her family’s deaths and betrayal, killed herself. The rebellion was defeated, and the Jiang and Shan families were executed.
• Reborn, Jiang and Shan have returned to the time of Jiang’s first trip to the capital. Jiang assumes Wenren can be made to support and marry him again.
• He approaches her with condescending familiarity and demands substantial monthly funds, money for his mother, admission to the Imperial Academy, and half the shares in Wenren’s Begonia Garden.

Character developments

• Wenren Luoshui is now clear-eyed about the pair’s history and has no intention of repeating her past life, though she does not understand why the others react to Jiang’s arrival.
• Jiang Ning remains arrogant and entitled, treating Wenren’s wealth and support as his due despite his past betrayal.
• Shan Wanwan accompanies Jiang and appears focused on Wenren’s jewelry; their past-life bond and shared rebirth shape their plans.
• Yunjian openly insults Jiang, voicing the contempt the gathered noblewomen feel.

Significant themes

• The chapter contrasts genuine affection with exploitation, showing how Jiang used Wenren’s love and family resources for advancement.
• Rebirth offers the chance to change past outcomes, but Jiang’s unchanged arrogance suggests he may repeat his destructive choices.
• It also highlights the dangers of unchecked entitlement and the costs of misplaced trust.

Character interactions

• The noblewomen gossip together and silently judge Jiang after learning his history.
• Jiang addresses Wenren as though they already share a relationship, then presents a list of demands.
• Yunjian’s pointed insult draws laughter from the women, while Wenren recognizes its target but remains puzzled by the group’s reaction.

Key plot points and events

• Jiang Ning arrogantly assumes Wenren Luoshui will help him gain the emperor’s favor, drawing scorn from her and the noblewomen around them.
• Wenren promises to send him to the emperor. The system has compiled evidence of Jiang’s past-life collaboration with the Rebel Army, which Wenren sends to the palace.
• Jiang further demands Wenren’s jewelry as a “welcoming gift” for Shan Wanwan, whom he calls his younger sister and Wenren’s future sister-in-law. Guards from the Grand Princess’s residence seize both of them; Jiang is knocked unconscious.
• After reviewing the evidence, the emperor imprisons Jiang for life, blocks named potential Rebel Army associates from entering official service, and orders surveillance of the future rebel leader.
• As the group leaves the banquet, Yunjian rushes to greet Sui Yun, who has arrived on horseback. She rides in the carriage while he accompanies it.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui stays composed and dryly teases Jiang, while acting decisively to expose his treason.
• Jiang Ning is deluded by memories of his past life, convinced he will become the emperor’s favorite. His entitlement and shameless demands provoke the women around him and ultimately contribute to his downfall.
• The noblewomen, including Tu Hua, unite in mocking Jiang and defending Wenren.
• The emperor responds forcefully to the threat, using the evidence to prevent a repeat of the rebellion.
• Yunjian openly shows affection for Sui Yun. Wenren and Tu Hua wonder whether their romance can succeed, and Tu Hua makes clear she will protect her friend if Sui Yun mistreats her.

Significant themes

• Consequences of arrogance and treachery: Jiang’s confidence cannot protect him from evidence of his past-life crimes.
• Female solidarity and social justice: The noblewomen support Wenren against a manipulative man.
• Fate, memory, and prevention: Knowledge of the previous life lets Wenren and the emperor act before disaster returns.
• Romance and hope: Yunjian’s feelings for Sui Yun suggest that relationships may unfold differently in this life.

Plot points

• A dead woman is found outside the Prince of Beiping’s residence, apparently placed there to frame the family. The prince trusts the emperor to handle the matter.
• As Wenren Luoshui leaves for court, the supposedly dead woman grabs her ankle. Luoshui calmly takes the body with her, rewarding one frightened servant who bravely offers help.
• The emperor and court officials are startled by Luoshui’s arrival with a corpse. After teasing the emperor with an irrelevant folk-tale question, she explains that the woman’s unresolved grievance concerns the Minister of Rites’ family.
• Luoshui reveals that the Minister of Rites’ youngest son’s new wife is not the woman she claimed to be: the background investigated by the family belonged to the corpse. The chapter ends with the minister stunned.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui remains irreverent and fearless, but turns serious when presenting the case. Her calm treatment of the corpse contrasts with the servants’ terror, and her generosity toward the helpful servant shows her attentiveness to the household staff.
• The Prince and his wife, Tie Lihua, respond to the apparent framing attempt with easy trust in the emperor and lighthearted affection.
• The emperor is exasperated by Luoshui’s antics but takes her seriously once she presents a potential crime.
• The Minister of Rites shifts from anxious uncertainty to shock as Luoshui links the corpse to his family’s recent marriage.

Significant themes

• Justice for the dead: Luoshui treats the corpse as a person with a grievance that must be heard.
• Appearances and identity: The investigation into the bride’s background may have uncovered a case of mistaken or stolen identity.
• Courage and compassion: A servant acts despite fear and is rewarded; Luoshui’s composure helps expose a serious matter.
• Humor amid tension: Luoshui’s teasing and the family’s casual reactions offset the unsettling discovery.

Key plot points and events

• The chapter reveals that the murdered young woman was Wu Lanle, the Wu family’s biological daughter. The bride who entered the Minister of Rites’ household was actually her cousin Tang Guan, who had assumed Wu Lanle’s identity.
• Though raised kindly by Wu Lanle’s parents, Tang Guan resented Wu Lanle and believed the Wu family’s wealth should have been hers.
• Tang Guan manipulated Wu Lanle into confronting a local thug, then arranged for Wu Lanle to be killed and stabbed her body repeatedly to disguise the crime. The authorities ruled the death an accident.
• At Wu Lanle’s funeral, Tang Guan falsely portrayed her as a disgraced woman involved with the thug. When Wu Lanle’s parents challenged her, Tang Guan assaulted them; both died, leaving Tang Guan in control of the family fortune.
• Tang Guan changed her name to Wu Lanle and later schemed her way into marriage with the Minister of Rites’ youngest son. Wu Lanle, now a ghost, followed her but refrained from attacking her because her parents had sacrificed themselves to preserve Wu Lanle’s sanity.
• A senior ghost cultivator directed Wu Lanle to Commandery Princess Luoshui, who helped bring her case before the Minister of Rites. Faced with evidence, political pressure, and the emperor’s interest, the Minister cooperated.
• Tang Guan was repudiated and sentenced to beheading after autumn. Once justice was secured, Wu Lanle’s corpse turned to dust, signifying that her resentment had ended.

Character developments and interactions

• Wu Lanle is introduced as impulsive but deeply protective of Tang Guan. After death, she endures helplessly watching her family’s destruction, yet restrains her vengeance out of respect for her parents’ sacrifice. Her pursuit of justice finally brings her peace.
• Tang Guan progresses from a resentful, manipulative cousin to a murderer who destroys the family that sheltered her. She exploits Wu Lanle’s loyalty, lies about the dead woman, and uses deception to gain wealth and status.
• Wu Lanle’s parents show profound love for their daughter: they defend her reputation and ultimately spend their merit to keep her spirit sane.
• The Minister of Rites initially fears the scandal and the danger Tang Guan poses to his household. Presented with evidence and the prospect of official intervention, he chooses to surrender her rather than protect her.
• Wenren Luoshui acts as an advocate, helping expose the truth and secure a swift trial.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and misplaced trust: Tang Guan turns Wu Lanle’s lifelong loyalty into a weapon.
• The cost of unchecked resentment and greed: Tang Guan’s desire for what she feels she was owed leads to murder and the ruin of the Wu family.
• Justice and release: Legal judgment cannot undo the deaths, but it resolves Wu Lanle’s grievance and frees her from the mortal world.
• Family love and sacrifice: The Wu parents’ devotion sustains their daughter even after death.
• Deception and vulnerability: The chapter emphasizes how a calculating person can exploit those who do not suspect them.

• Key events: Tu Hua finds Qin Xiaowu, a ten-year-old girl, waiting outside the Tu Residence. Xiaowu explains that her family neglected their daughters: her older sisters were married off or sold to a brothel to pay a debt, so she fled with her savings rather than suffer the same fate. Hoping to attend school and build an independent life, she traveled to the capital and asks Tu Hua to sponsor her education. Tu Hua agrees. When finding a suitable school proves difficult, she suggests establishing one themselves. Wenren Luoshui supports the idea, and with Tu Hua, Yunjian, and the Eldest Princess backing the effort, they begin setting up schools.
• Character developments: Xiaowu’s quiet, timid reputation contrasts with her courage in escaping home and making the long journey alone. Her goal is not just survival, but education and dignity. Tu Hua responds with compassion and takes responsibility for helping her. Wenren Luoshui turns that individual act of support into a broader educational initiative.
• Character interactions: Tu Hua gently invites Xiaowu to explain her situation and accepts her plea without demanding proof of kinship. Later, Tu Hua raises the school idea with Wenren Luoshui, who expands it into a plan for practical education. Yunjian and the Eldest Princess join in, lending financial and royal support.
• Significant themes: The chapter condemns gender discrimination, the sale and forced marriage of girls, and women’s dependence on men. It presents education and practical skills as routes to autonomy, dignity, and a more secure life. It also emphasizes compassion and collective action: helping one girl inspires a project that could benefit many.

Plot and events

• On a sweltering summer afternoon, young Wenren Qingluo and the system—disguised as a kitten—catch and eat cicadas together.
• Wenren Fuling’s maid kicks the kitten for supposedly frightening her mistress, then insults the Prince of Beiping’s residence. Qingluo retrieves and comforts the system without responding.
• Later, members of a collateral branch of the Wenren family visit, hoping to partner with Wenren Luoshui and sell her highly sought-after medicinal wine.
• During the visit, Wenren Ca Die asks about Luoshui’s new school and Medical College. The maid disparages medical work as a lowly way to serve others, while Fuling offers no correction.
• Ca Die rebukes Fuling for failing to discipline her maid. Fuling dismisses the maid’s words as ignorant and implies Luoshui should overlook them. She then accuses Luoshui of abusing her rank, though Luoshui has said nothing.
• Yunjian counters that Fuling’s family has failed to teach its servants manners. She smashes a teacup and orders the maid to kneel on the shards. Fuling refuses to help, and the maid collapses in despair.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Qingluo is gentle and composed: he quietly protects the system and remains courteous to the visiting guests despite Fuling’s coldness.
• Wenren Luoshui remains largely silent and detached, while Yunjian speaks up forcefully on her behalf.
• Wenren Fuling appears aloof and self-righteous, allowing her maid’s disrespect and then framing Luoshui as the unreasonable party.
• Wenren Ca Die shows greater tact and moral courage than her elder sister by challenging both the maid’s comments and Fuling’s lack of discipline.
• Madam Wenren, seeking a business arrangement, recognizes the damage Fuling’s behavior could do and tries to smooth things over.
• Fuling’s cold refusal to defend her maid exposes the maid’s vulnerability and their unequal relationship.

Significant themes

• Rank, manners, and responsibility: The scene questions whether status excuses disrespect—and whether a mistress is accountable for her servant’s conduct.
• Gender and social hierarchy: The maid’s claim that women should seek security through servitude and concubinage contrasts with Luoshui’s effort to provide education and professional opportunities.
• Hypocrisy and moral posturing: Fuling invokes kindness and tolerance to pressure Luoshui, despite having allowed the original insult.
• Power and vulnerability: Yunjian’s harsh retaliation demonstrates how quickly authority can turn against someone with little protection.

• The punishment escalates: Wenren Luoshui has Wenren Fuling’s maid pinned on broken porcelain and makes Fuling hold a thin cup of boiling water in the sun, ordering servants to refill it as it cools. Fuling insists she has done nothing wrong, while her mother, Madam Wenren, is too intimidated by the Princess Consort to intervene.
• Ca Die begins to see through her sister: Wenren Ca Die has long been used to stepping in to smooth over Wenren Fuling’s trouble. But she overhears Luoshui’s unspoken thoughts revealing that Fuling is secretly in love with Ca Die’s fiancé, Ma Duo. Fuling has copied his handwriting and embroidered his poems onto handkerchiefs, one of which Ma Duo once gave Ca Die. Ca Die realizes the gift was actually made by her sister.
• Fuling’s apparent faintness is questioned: When no one rushes to help her, Fuling lets her cup fall and claims to feel dizzy. Luoshui and Yunjian privately mock the excuse, noting that Fuling looks healthy and that even the maid enduring the punishment seems fine. Ca Die also studies Fuling and doubts her claim.
• A more sinister plan is exposed: Luoshui reveals that Fuling and Ma Duo intend to marry him to Ca Die, then secretly kill Ca Die after she gives birth. Fuling hopes to claim the child and later marry Ma Duo, using the child as a reason the Wenren family might accept the match. The revelation horrifies Ca Die and Madam Wenren.
  Character developments and interactions: Ca Die shifts from her familiar role as the sister who cleans up Fuling’s messes to someone questioning Fuling’s character and motives. Madam Wenren’s affection for Fuling falters as she learns of the betrayal and danger to Ca Die. Luoshui uses her authority and private insights to expose Fuling’s manipulation, while Yunjian’s commentary sharpens the scene’s darkly comic tone.
  Themes: The chapter contrasts Fuling’s composed, “unassuming” image with her concealed ambition; explores family loyalty and the exploitation of trust; and exposes the danger of treating Ca Die as a means to secure Fuling’s future.

Key plot points and events

• Madam Wenren initially doubts Wenren Luoshui’s accusation that Wenren Fuling had plotted with Ma Duo against the Wenren family. But Luoshui’s inner thoughts reveal that Ma Duo had secretly sabotaged the family’s goods during visits to their home, with Fuling’s involvement later exposed by the evidence.
• Madam Wenren’s changing reaction—first helping Fuling up, then pushing her back down—makes clear that she believes the revelations. Tie Lihua also rejects Fuling’s and her mother’s behavior, slaps Madam Wenren for insulting Luoshui, and has the family escorted out.
• Back home, Wenren Ca Die asks to end her engagement to Ma Duo. Her parents agree after learning what Luoshui foresaw, and the Wenren family breaks the engagement.
• Wenren Zhi marries Fuling off to the frontier. Ma Duo follows her, though his own family disowns him. Fuling and her husband clash; she begins an affair with Ma Duo. When her husband discovers them, a fight leaves Ma Duo dead, and Fuling and her husband also die.
• Wenren Zhi’s business prospers despite failing to win exclusive distribution rights for Luoshui’s medicinal wine.

Character developments and interactions

• Madam Wenren shifts from defending Fuling to recognizing the danger she poses to the family. Wenren Ca Die, hurt by her sister’s betrayal and reconsidering her past closeness with Ma Duo, decisively breaks off her engagement.
• Fuling’s practiced pose of innocence and wounded dignity fails to win sympathy. Tie Lihua openly protects Luoshui and draws a firm boundary against Fuling’s presence.
• Wenren Zhi responds to the warning by abandoning his eldest daughter and arranging her marriage far away. Ma Duo remains loyal to Fuling, but that devotion leads him to the frontier and ultimately to his death.
• After sending Wenren Zhi home, Wenren Qiao eagerly leaves his study to reunite with his wife, adding a brief affectionate, comic moment.

Significant themes

• Deception and accountability: Fuling’s innocent act cannot hide her role in the family’s ruin.
• Family loyalty and betrayal: Ca Die’s trust in her sister collapses, while her parents choose to protect the wider family.
• Consequences of harmful choices: Fuling and Ma Duo’s affair ends in multiple deaths, while the family recovers once Fuling is gone.
• Protection and boundaries: Tie Lihua refuses to tolerate disrespect toward Luoshui or allow Fuling’s behavior into her household.

Key plot points

• By mid-August, Wenren Luoshui’s medical and culinary academies are enrolling students, while her other practical-skill schools teach subjects such as accounting and nursing. She replaces the planned embroidery academy after failing to find teachers willing to share their trade secrets.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian follow a crowd to the Imperial Censor Lord He’s residence, where his daughter-in-law, Zhu Yijin, has been accused of poisoning a younger female relative with pastries.
• After Zhu is forced to kneel in the sun and faints, she abruptly changes course: instead of pleading her innocence, she demands an amicable divorce. When He Cen tries to slap her, Zhu catches her wrist and slaps her back.
• Refusing to be dragged indoors, Zhu sits outside the residence and publicly recounts how the He family has mistreated her. She challenges Madam He’s claim that a daughter-in-law must serve her husband’s family, revealing that her inheritance has been taken and even used without her permission.
• Wenren Luoshui’s thoughts expose another secret: He Yu’s celebrated essays were actually written by Zhu. He Yu has been passing off his wife’s work as his own, and Zhu realizes why he kept urging her to write.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhu Yijin transforms from a routinely bullied, compliant wife into a composed and defiant woman who confronts her in-laws and demands freedom. Learning of He Yu’s plagiarism further deepens her disgust toward him.
• Madam He tries to justify the abuse as a daughter-in-law’s duty and invokes social convention, but Zhu counters with specific examples of exploitation.
• He Yu and He Cen embody the family’s mistreatment of Zhu: He Yu takes credit for her work, while He Cen attempts to strike her.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian join the crowd to watch the confrontation; Wenren’s private revelation turns the family scandal into even juicier gossip.
• The three princes are also present. They complain about being worked relentlessly by the emperor, who has delegated daily government business to them while pursuing his wish to leave the palace.

Significant themes

• Women’s agency and resistance: Zhu rejects the expectation that a wife endure mistreatment and asserts her right to leave.
• Marriage, inheritance, and exploitation: The He family’s treatment of Zhu includes taking her property and labor without consent.
• Credit and hidden talent: He Yu’s reputation rests on Zhu’s unacknowledged writing.
• Social conventions versus justice: Madam He appeals to customary duties, while Zhu exposes how those customs can excuse abuse.
• Practical education and opportunity: Wenren’s academies aim to give students useful skills and routes to employment.

Plot points and events

• Lord He arrives amid the dispute and, trusting Commandery Princess Wenren Luoshui’s revealing inner voice, slaps He Yu for his dishonesty.
• Luoshui exposes how the He family knowingly brought Li Xi into the household to provoke Zhu Yijin and planned to punish Zhu regardless of whether she could prove her innocence.
• Zhu remembers that in her previous life the family left her to die after she collapsed in the sun. Having returned to that moment, she now refuses to submit and wants a divorce.
• At Luoshui’s suggestion, Lord He makes He Yu and Zhu write poems on the spot. Zhu writes confidently; He Yu cannot begin, confirming that he has been passing off others’ work as his own.
• Luoshui’s inner voice also reveals He Yu’s future abuse of his cousin, whom he later marries, and that the cousin eventually retaliates after enduring his violence.
• When Madam He tries to excuse He Yu’s failure as illness, Luoshui reveals that he has been spending nights with a courtesan. Lord He is furious and ultimately forces He Yu and Zhu to sign divorce papers. Madam He faints.

Character developments

• Zhu Yijin moves from remembering the meek, doomed wife she once was to acting decisively: she writes well, recognizes her own worth, and welcomes a future beyond the He household.
• Lord He confronts the truth about his son’s fraud and misconduct. Though he regrets how his son was raised, he takes action and supports the divorce.
• Madam He reveals that her failure to discipline He Yu partly stemmed from his grandmother’s indulgence and his estrangement from her. Still, she tries to protect him and is shocked by Luoshui’s disclosures.
• He Yu is exposed as a plagiarist, a poor writer, and a serially dishonest man.

Significant themes

• Truth and accountability: Luoshui’s revelations strip away the He family’s excuses and expose their complicity.
• Abuse of power within families: Zhu’s memories show how the household’s cruelty nearly cost her life.
• Self-worth and escape: Zhu’s determination to leave marks a break from the submission that defined her former life.
• Consequences of indulgence: He Yu’s upbringing helps explain his failures, but does not excuse his behavior.

Character interactions

• Lord He confronts and tests He Yu, while Zhu’s successful poem makes the contrast between them unmistakable.
• Madam He tries to shield her son and absorb her husband’s anger, but each defense is undermined by Luoshui’s revelations.
• Luoshui and Yunjian trade amused commentary, and even discuss recruiting Zhu once she is free of the He family.

Key plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui reveals He Yu’s future crimes: he will shove his mother into a winter lake and leave her to die, then later cause his father’s disgrace and exile through gambling debts and a false accusation against an honest examiner.
• Lord He will eventually be implicated in corruption; the family will lose its property, and several relatives will die during exile. He Yu will ultimately kill his father, blaming him for the family’s ruin.
• Horrified by this future and by He Yu’s present behavior, Lord He orders a divorce between He Yu and Zhu Yijin. He has Yijin’s dowry returned and writes her an IOU for the nearly ten thousand taels the household still owes her.
• Yijin returns to her family home with her possessions and attendants. Lord He beats He Yu and sends him back to their hometown with a limited annual allowance. He refuses to cover He Yu’s debts, and villagers eventually turn against him; repeated beatings deter He Yu from returning to the capital.

Character developments

• Zhu Yijin confirms her decision to leave the He Residence, recognizing that she has already repaid Lord He’s kindness through years of labor and the use of her dowry.
• Lord He moves from shock and regret to decisive action. Though ashamed of his son, he takes responsibility for returning Yijin’s property and compensating her.
• He Yu is exposed as selfish and ungrateful. Even when the divorce is imposed, he thinks mainly about his own access to Yijin’s belongings; an electric shock stops him from revealing that he can hear the supernatural voice.
• Madam He collapses after learning her son will cause her death, realizing that her efforts to repair their relationship have been futile.

Significant themes

• The danger of unchecked indulgence: Madam He’s spoiling of He Yu helps produce a destructive, entitled adult.
• Conscience and responsibility: The characters’ futures show the harm caused by trusting someone without moral integrity.
• Accountability and restitution: Lord He cannot undo his son’s conduct, but he acts to return Yijin’s dowry and repay the household’s debt.
• Family loyalty versus self-interest: He Yu repeatedly sacrifices his family for personal comfort and later blames others for the consequences.

Character interactions

• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian trade gossip and condemn He Yu’s future, while the system adds a wry comment about sons failing to care for their parents.
• Their revelations are overheard by Madam He, Lord He, and others, transforming the household’s view of He Yu.
• Lord He formally ends He Yu and Yijin’s marriage, ensures Yijin is compensated, and then punishes and exiles his son from the family’s daily life.

Key plot points and events

• Wen Nianzhi blames Wenren Luoshui for Fang Ruxue’s death and forces her to drink medicine. He then has her confined to a secluded courtyard, where she is deprived of proper heat and made to work despite her declining health.
• When Luoshui collapses with a severe illness, her maid Yin Xing hopes Wen Nianzhi will help, but Luoshui knows his feelings toward her have changed.
• On Fang Ruxue’s birthday, Wen Nianzhi’s sister orders Luoshui to kneel outside all night burning spirit money. Two servants threaten Yin Xing while Luoshui is too weak to protect her.
• Luoshui and Yin Xing jump into a well together rather than submit to the servants. The servants cover the well and invent a story claiming the women escaped after drugging them. Wen Nianzhi accepts their account and orders a search.
• After dying, Luoshui remains in a dreamlike state and follows the servants to Wen Nianzhi’s study. The chapter then recounts how she met him and helped him rise: he was an unacknowledged son of the Wen family, and she supported his decision to join the family. He eventually became its heir, while his mother became the family patriarch’s second wife.

Character developments

• Wenren Luoshui has fallen from a protected, high-status life into illness, isolation, and abuse. Despite her weakness, she acts decisively to protect Yin Xing, choosing death over letting the servants harm them.
• Yin Xing remains loyal and courageous, standing by Luoshui even when they are both vulnerable.
• Wen Nianzhi is revealed as cruel and deeply ungrateful. Luoshui once supported his ambitions, but after Fang Ruxue’s death he turns against her and ignores the danger she faces.
• Wen Nianzhi’s sister expresses the household’s hostility toward Luoshui, treating her as responsible for Fang Ruxue’s death.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and ingratitude: Wen Nianzhi’s rise was aided by Luoshui, yet he repays her with neglect and cruelty.
• Power and status: The chapter contrasts Luoshui’s former rank and influence with her powerless confinement, while showing how Wen Nianzhi’s status transforms his family’s fortunes.
• Loyalty and sacrifice: Yin Xing’s devotion and Luoshui’s attempt to protect her give their relationship a strong emotional core.
• Abuse and injustice: The servants exploit the household’s hierarchy, while those with authority either enable or ignore the harm.

Character interactions

• Wen Nianzhi confronts Luoshui with blame and forces her to take medicine.
• Yin Xing comforts and cares for Luoshui, and Luoshui tries to protect Yin Xing when the servants threaten her.
• Wen Nianzhi’s sister humiliates Luoshui by ordering her to burn spirit money, while the servants use the order as cover to prey on Yin Xing.
• In the flashback, Luoshui’s support helps Wen Nianzhi secure his place in the Wen family, highlighting the contrast between their earlier relationship and his later betrayal.

Chapter Summary

Key plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui recalls a painful episode from the second year of her marriage to Wen Nianzhi. His mother moved into their residence with her niece, Fang Ruxue, who repeatedly inserted herself into Wen Nianzhi’s life and implied she knew his tastes better than his wife did.
• After Wenren jokingly suggested Wen Nianzhi take Fang as a concubine, he seriously proposed making her his co-wife, claiming it was only fair after Fang had cared for his mother. Wenren fled to her birth family’s residence and refused to return until Fang was married off.
• Fang killed herself on her wedding day. Wen Nianzhi retrieved her body, arranged her funeral, and had her tombstone call her “my wife.” Wenren slapped him; he retaliated by imprisoning her and having her given poisoned medicinal soup.
• Wenren wakes from this nightmare with murderous feelings still lingering. Her system, which had taken the form of a magpie and then a kitten, checks on her before she goes back to sleep.
• In the autumn present, Yunjian and Sui Yun’s relationship is progressing. At Yunjian’s request, Sui Yun arranges for two retired Embroidered Guards to train Tu Hua, who is determined to join the guards despite her weak fighting skills. Tu Hua steadily improves.
• At Begonia Garden, Wenren asks whether Yunjian is sure about Sui Yun. Yunjian says she prefers someone she likes, and Wenren promises to stand by her.
• Yunjian recalls her previous life: her father betrayed her wealthy mother for his former girlfriend, who later flaunted her pregnancy during the mother’s own pregnancy. The betrayal and subsequent emotional abuse contributed to her mother’s postpartum depression and suicide; six months after her death, Yunjian’s father married his former mistress.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui is haunted by her past and reacts strongly to the recollection of Wen Nianzhi’s betrayal and cruelty. In the present, she is a loyal, protective friend to Yunjian.
• Wen Nianzhi is revealed in Wenren’s memory as dismissive of his wife’s status and feelings, prioritizing Fang’s supposed sacrifices; after Fang’s death, his grief turns into abuse of Wenren.
• Yunjian appears happy with Sui Yun and confident in her judgment, though her painful memories explain her sensitivity to betrayal and her insistence on choosing someone she genuinely likes.
• Sui Yun remains outwardly cold but softens around Yunjian and supports her friends by arranging Tu Hua’s training.
• Tu Hua shows grit and commitment, enduring painful training and making visible progress.
• Wenren and Yunjian share affectionate teasing and sincere trust: Yunjian jokes with her, while Wenren offers unwavering support.

Significant themes

• Betrayal and abuse: Wenren’s past marriage and Yunjian’s family history both show how infidelity can escalate into emotional and physical harm.
• Loyalty and support: Wenren’s promise to stand by Yunjian contrasts with the betrayal both women have experienced.
• Agency and self-trust: Yunjian chooses a partner she likes rather than settling, while Tu Hua pursues her own ambition through hard work.
• Trauma and memory: Wenren’s nightmare and Yunjian’s recollections show how past suffering continues to shape present relationships.

Plot points and events

• Wenren Luoshui recalls her former life: her infant daughter, Yunjian, was sent to live with her poor but loving grandparents. Yunjian grew up safely with them, while her biological father remained distant and ashamed of his rural parents. Luoshui regrets never learning how her father, stepmother, and stepsister fared during the Apocalypse, though she is relieved her grandparents died before it began.
• At court, the emperor considers granting a marriage between the Left Chancellor’s third daughter and the second son of the Minister of Rites. The families have already arranged the match, but Luoshui’s thoughts reveal that the young man loves a tofu seller and is not the respectable bachelor he appears to be.
• The emperor hesitates, trusting Luoshui’s accurate insights, while the Left Chancellor stubbornly presses for the decree. The emperor draws the Minister of Rites into the discussion, leaving him anxious about what his son may be hiding.
• Luoshui reveals the likely tragedy: on the wedding day, the son will abandon his bride and guests to search for his abducted beloved. His mother will then blame and mistreat the bride, forcing her into humiliating service.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunjian’s father is portrayed as ambitious and ungrateful, having turned away from the parents who sacrificed to educate him.
• Wenren Luoshui is perceptive and compassionate toward the vulnerable, but blunt in her private thoughts. She explains to her kitten-shaped system why a man’s promise to make someone his principal wife matters in a society with concubines.
• The emperor enjoys courtly intrigue but restrains himself once Luoshui’s warning raises doubts.
• The Left Chancellor is determined to secure an imperial marriage decree, while the Minister of Rites grows increasingly nervous as he suspects his son may have a hidden side.
• Luoshui and the Salty Fish System trade humorous observations: the system struggles to understand human marriage customs and quickly turns its attention back to food.

Significant themes

• Family loyalty and neglect: Yunjian’s grandparents’ devotion contrasts with her father’s shame and abandonment.
• Marriage, status, and gendered power: A noble marriage can trap a bride, while a man’s beloved may be kept as a concubine rather than given the principal-wife position.
• Appearances versus reality: The Minister of Rites’ son’s public reputation conceals his love affair and the conflict his family’s plans will create.
• Foreknowledge and injustice: Luoshui’s insight exposes how the proposed match may lead to the bride being blamed and abused for events beyond her control.

Plot points and events

• The Left Chancellor hears that the Minister of Rites’ wife has mistreated his third daughter and immediately repudiates the proposed marriage alliance, insisting no marriage arrangement exists.
• Wenren Luoshui’s thoughts reveal a grim future: the Minister of Rites’ second son brings home the woman he loves—a tofu seller—and demands that she become his co-wife. The Left Chancellor’s daughter offers her honored-concubine status, but the Minister’s wife spreads rumors that the daughter schemed to marry the son.
• The rumors damage the Left Chancellor’s family. When he uncovers the truth and moves to take his daughter home, the tofu seller pleads for her to stay and dies in front of them. The second son then apologizes and promises that the daughter will be his only wife.
• In the future Luoshui describes, that promise is a lie. The son secretly keeps the tofu seller, has his wife bear six children, and arranges for the children to die while convincing their mother that she is being punished for her sins. The Minister’s wife knowingly helps torment her. The daughter’s health fails, and she dies before thirty.
• Hearing Luoshui’s thoughts, the assembled officials are horrified and condemn the husband and his mother. The Left Chancellor is furious and ashamed, while the Minister of Rites is left humiliated.

Character developments and interactions

• The Left Chancellor shifts from pursuing the match to rejecting it outright. His anger reflects both his protectiveness toward his daughter and his regret at having trusted the Minister of Rites.
• The Minister of Rites realizes how badly his household has behaved, but his shame does not undo the harm. His once-close relationship with the Left Chancellor becomes visibly strained.
• The Minister’s second son and wife are exposed, through Luoshui’s account of the future, as cruel and manipulative. The tofu seller is also caught in the destructive household conflict, while the Left Chancellor’s daughter bears its worst consequences.
• Wenren Luoshui continues to reveal the future through her private thoughts, unaware that the officials can hear them. Her revelations reshape their judgment of the proposed alliance.
• The officials’ reactions turn against the Minister of Rites; some visibly condemn him, while others quietly decide against marrying into his family.

Significant themes

• Family duty and accountability: Parents and elders are judged for failing to control or restrain their own household.
• Marriage as power and danger: A political alliance can become a trap when a bride is treated as a tool rather than a person.
• Manipulation and cruelty: The son’s false promises and psychological abuse make the daughter’s suffering especially devastating.
• Reputation and social consequences: The fabricated rumors harm not only the target but her entire family, and the Minister’s household loses standing among its peers.
• Fate altered by knowledge: Luoshui’s revelations give the Left Chancellor a chance to prevent the disastrous marriage before it happens.

Plot points and events

• Yunjian eagerly visits the Anyi Marquis Residence with Sui Yun, meeting his parents. She quickly feels at ease and enjoys watching the affectionate bond between the Marquis and his wife.
• The Marquis’s Wife, initially nervous and trying to appear imposing, warms to Yunjian after a shared smile. At dinner, the Marquis subtly tries to reclaim his wife’s attention, while Sui Yun serves Yunjian food too.
• The next day, Yunjian buys large quantities of fruit and rare glassware from Wenren Luoshui, including a full-length mirror, and delivers twenty carts of gifts to the Marquis’s household. The mirror delights the Marquis’s Wife, who embraces Yunjian.
• Back at the Yun Residence, Yunjian’s mother worries about returning such extravagant gifts. Yunjian jokes that the family should accept them since they are marrying her off; her mother lightly slaps her for her cheek.
• That evening, as autumn rain begins, a man arrives at the Prince of Beiping’s Residence claiming to be Wenren Luoshui’s husband. Luoshui suspects he is a former-life suitor and refuses to see him, telling Yin Xing to deal with him.

Character developments and interactions

• Yunjian is warm, playful, and socially perceptive. She recognizes the Marquis’s Wife’s timid nature and wins her affection with ease; her generous gifts deepen their bond.
• Sui Yun remains reserved but attentive, helping Yunjian and quietly serving her food. He seems pleased by her closeness with his mother, even as the men briefly feel jealous.
• The Marquis’s Wife moves from nervous formality to wholehearted affection, treating Yunjian almost like a daughter—and even like a sister.
• The Anyi Marquis shows enduring devotion to his wife through small, tender gestures, underscoring the couple’s close marriage.
• Yunjian and her mother share affectionate, teasing familiarity, despite Madam Yun’s disapproval of Yunjian’s bluntness.
• Wenren Luoshui firmly rejects a man invoking their supposed past relationship, asserting her independence from her previous life.

Significant themes

• Affection across generations: The Marquis and his wife’s loving marriage offers Yunjian a model of lasting devotion, while the Marquis’s Wife’s welcome gives her another source of maternal warmth.
• Family bonds and belonging: Gifts and kindness help Yunjian become part of Sui Yun’s family.
• Agency and reinvention: Luoshui refuses to be bound by a former life’s relationships and chooses how to respond in the present.
• Generosity and social convention: Yunjian treats lavish gift-giving casually, while her mother worries about the expected etiquette of reciprocation.

Plot points and events

• At a palace banquet welcoming North Qu’s envoys, Wenren Luoshui shares food with her maid Yin Xing while her kitten-shaped system complains about being left out. She feeds it a dry, sticky pastry that nearly glues its mouth shut.
• North Qu has sent Zhou Siyu—a general’s daughter, rather than a royal princess—as a marriage-alliance candidate. Emperor Lang Ling dislikes the recurring diplomatic practice and considers assigning her to one of his three foolish sons.
• The princes dread being forced into marriage and briefly consider claiming they prefer men, but fear their father’s reaction.
• The delegation is led by the young Marquis of Ding’an, who already has a sweetheart at home. Zhou Siyu watches him with strikingly possessive affection, drawing the emperor and Empress’s attention; they hope Wenren Luoshui will notice and provide gossip.
• Li’s inexpensive paper, now used in place of toilet sticks, astonishes the North Qu envoys, who recognize how valuable it is by comparison with their own customs.
• Zhou Siyu announces a song and dance, then declares it unparalleled and demands that the emperor grant her a request before she performs. Her audacity shocks the court and alarms her own delegation, which fears she will jeopardize their mission.

Character developments and interactions

• Wenren Luoshui remains playful and indulgent toward Yin Xing, but dismisses the system’s complaints with teasing affection.
• The system provides sarcastic commentary, especially on the emperor’s reluctance to take a much younger marriage-alliance princess himself.
• Emperor Lang Ling is irritated by marriage diplomacy and his sons’ foolishness, yet considers using the princess to solve the political problem.
• The three princes resist the prospect of marriage and share a comic, fearful camaraderie.
• Zhou Siyu appears unusually bold and unpredictable, while her gaze at the Marquis hints at a personal attachment or possessiveness.
• The Marquis of Ding’an keeps to himself, drinking alone, despite Zhou Siyu’s attention; he is already committed to someone in North Qu.

Significant themes

• Marriage alliances treat women as political instruments, while the emperor and princes respond with self-interest and comic reluctance.
• Zhou Siyu’s provocative demand disrupts diplomatic expectations, raising tension over whether her behavior will undermine North Qu’s attempt to secure an alliance.
• The contrast in everyday technology—especially Li’s paper—illustrates differences in wealth and development between the kingdoms.

Plot points and events

• Zhou Siyu, the North Qu princess sent to Li for a marriage alliance, publicly demands the Li Kingdom’s papermaking technique in exchange for performing a dance.
• The demand outrages the Li court: the technique was developed by Li’s Eldest Princess and has benefited people throughout the country. The emperor questions Zhou’s audacity while trying to keep the situation from escalating.
• Wenren Luoshui reveals through her system that Zhou is a transmigrator. She had been a death-row inmate in the modern world, sentenced for stabbing a former coworker to death after an argument.
• The revelation frightens the gathered officials and North Qu envoys, who worry that Zhou might react violently if refused. The emperor privately wonders why his kingdom seems to attract such troublesome people.

Character developments

• Zhou Siyu displays extraordinary entitlement and confidence, treating the emperor as though he were a doting father and insisting her dance is worth more than the papermaking technique.
• Wenren Luoshui recognizes Zhou as another transmigrator and exposes her past, using humor and commentary to puncture Zhou’s self-important image.
• The emperor shifts from irritation to alarm as he learns Zhou’s violent history, while trying to manage the diplomatic crisis.
• The North Qu envoys become increasingly anxious, regretting their mission and fearing the consequences of Zhou’s behavior.

Character interactions

• Zhou’s brazen demand clashes with the emperor’s cautious questioning and the Li court’s contempt.
• The North Qu envoys silently fear that the emperor may punish them for their princess’s conduct.
• Wenren Luoshui and Yunjian exchange sarcastic comments about Zhou’s confidence before Wenren reveals her criminal past, changing the crowd’s amusement into fear.

Significant themes

• Entitlement and misplaced confidence: Zhou assumes she deserves a valuable national secret without having earned it.
• Power, diplomacy, and consequences: Her personal arrogance risks endangering the envoys and worsening relations between the two kingdoms.
• Humor amid danger: The narration and system commentary mock Zhou’s absurdity, even as her violent past makes the situation genuinely threatening.

Key plot points and events

• During the marriage-alliance banquet, Princess Wenhe (Zhou Siyu) makes increasingly outrageous demands of Emperor Li: she wants the papermaking technique, insists she will become his empress, and demands that any son she bears be named crown prince.
• She claims her heart belongs to Marquis Rong Chen, while treating the emperor as her future husband and framing her demands as playful marital banter.
• Rong Chen tries to contain the diplomatic damage, kneeling to seek forgiveness and claiming the princess is unwell. Zhou Siyu contradicts him, worsening the situation and alarming the North Qu delegation.
• The emperor, amused and unimpressed, declares that Zhou Siyu will be given to his ninth younger brother, Prince Chen, as a secondary consort—not made empress.

Character developments

• Zhou Siyu is convinced she is the heroine of a tragic romance and interprets Rong Chen’s coldness as hidden love. She assumes the emperor is her destined male lead and behaves as if she already possesses him, blind to the political danger of her demands.
• Rong Chen is shown as disciplined and loyal to North Qu. He tries to protect his country from Zhou Siyu’s reckless words, though he is exasperated and privately wants to stop her.
• The emperor remains composed and recognizes the absurdity of Zhou Siyu’s behavior. He has no intention of making her empress and chooses a politically decisive, humiliating alternative.
• The Empress and her friends enjoy the spectacle, while the Empress playfully tests the emperor’s loyalty and threatens to leave the palace if he takes Zhou Siyu as a new consort.

Significant themes

• Delusion versus reality: Zhou Siyu forces events into the romance narrative she has imagined, ignoring the actual political and personal circumstances.
• Diplomacy and power: A marriage-alliance princess has limited leverage, and her public demands risk provoking a stronger kingdom.
• The gap between fantasy and consequence: Zhou Siyu expects to become empress but is instead assigned a lesser position.
• Public performance and court politics: The banquet’s audience watches her behavior as both entertainment and a diplomatic crisis.

Character interactions

• Rong Chen’s formal distance contrasts with Zhou Siyu’s intimate, romantic address, highlighting how little she understands their relationship.
• The North Qu officials kneel in alarm as she threatens to link her personal happiness to the fate of her entire country.
• The Empress teases the emperor about taking Zhou Siyu into the harem; he responds with a decree that makes clear he will not make her empress.
• Zhou Siyu’s confident assumptions collapse when the emperor names her Prince Chen’s secondary consort.

Key plot points and events

• Zhou Siyu erupts at the emperor over being made Prince Chen’s concubine rather than empress, claiming the decision insults North Qu. Rong Chen restrains her, and the North Qu envoys apologize. The emperor reprimands them but lets the matter end.
• Rong Chen refuses to join Zhou Siyu’s ambitions: he knows her recklessness would ruin him, and his lawful wife’s powerful family makes an alliance with Zhou Siyu especially dangerous. Zhou Siyu is later confined to a corner of Prince Chen’s household; after their wedding night, Prince Chen never visits her again.
• Meanwhile, Wenren Luoshui’s Begonia Garden and Academy continue to grow. Girls can study for free, then either teach at the Academy or repay just one percent of their wages if they work elsewhere.
• The Anyi Marquis’s Wife enjoys strawberries sent by Yunjian and happily praises her to her cousin, Luo Chuyan. Luo Chuyan reacts jealously, strikes her forehead, and warns that Yunjian is pretending to be good and will eventually turn her son against her.

Character developments and interactions

• Zhou Siyu remains delusional and unable to accept her reduced status, imagining she will help Prince Chen overthrow the emperor. In reality, she ends up isolated and powerless.
• Rong Chen prioritizes political survival and refuses to sacrifice his position and marriage for Zhou Siyu’s unstable schemes.
• The emperor shows restraint by holding the envoys accountable only with a verbal reprimand.
• Wenren Luoshui balances her desire to improve education with practical, sustainable arrangements rather than giving without limits.
• The Anyi Marquis’s Wife is trusting, affectionate toward Yunjian, and eager to share her happiness, but misses Luo Chuyan’s hostile motives. A household matron defends her after Luo Chuyan hurts her.
• Luo Chuyan reveals jealousy and tries to poison the Marquis’s Wife’s opinion of Yunjian, despite having just received kindness and hospitality.

Significant themes

• Fantasy versus reality: Zhou Siyu’s grand ambitions collapse into a lonely, restricted life.
• Power and political calculation: Rong Chen’s choices are shaped by family influence and the dangers of court alliances.
• Education and practical generosity: Luoshui supports girls’ schooling while making the program financially sustainable.
• Jealousy and manipulation: Luo Chuyan exploits the Marquis’s Wife’s trust to sow discord between a mother and her future daughter-in-law.