Chapter Summaries

Jiang Shuyue and Huahua tried to discover the emperor’s underwear color, and Zhou Luming bribed Eunuch Qin to learn that it was white. The Empress kept Jiang Shuyue at the palace to spend time with Little Six and the Crown Prince, where an array of treats awaited her despite her already being full.

• The emperor learned that Jiang Shuyue and Huahua were guessing the color of his underwear, while Jiang Shuyue decided not to risk checking for herself.
• Zhou Luming secretly gave Eunuch Qin two silver notes, and he hinted that the emperor was wearing white underneath.
• Jiang Shuyue told Huahua she had won their bet, then greeted Little Six, who asked his parents to let her stay and play.
• The Empress invited Jiang Shuyue to remain at the palace and accompany the Crown Prince and Little Six until the evening banquet.
• The Empress had palace maids serve Jiang Shuyue an assortment of treats, but Jiang Shuyue was too full to enjoy them all.

Jiang Shuyue and Huahua exposed Xiao Ran as a man disguised as a palace maid and revealed his secret family and affairs. The Crown Prince and Emperor learned that Xiao Ran had fathered four children with three maids, all of whom had plotted against the royal family, while Liu Ran was left terrified by the revelations.

• Jiang Shuyue noticed a palace maid watching them, and Huahua revealed that the maid was a man named Xiao Ran.
• Huahua explained that Xiao Ran had taken his twin sister’s place in the imperial consort selection and later entered the Crown Prince’s service.
• Huahua revealed that Xiao Ran had secretly pursued three maids and fathered four children, supporting them with his wages and business profits.
• Huahua disclosed that all three women had plotted against members of the royal family, and Xiao Ran had stopped their schemes.
• Liu Ran nearly fainted from fear, but Eunuch Qin’s apprentice revived him with a needle.

Huahua revealed that Liu Ran had unknowingly thwarted spies and exposed corrupt men, prompting the royal family to reconsider his punishment and usefulness. After the Emperor fled to avoid gossip, Huahua revealed that he had secretly prepared an Edict of Succession to protect the Crown Prince and Empress, leaving the Empress overwhelmed by his hidden care.

• Huahua explained that Liu Ran had driven away a Second Prince's agent and dealt with men who had schemed against the Crown Prince.
• Jiang Shuyue and Huahua discussed Liu Ran's romantic history, and the Emperor and Empress considered sparing him and putting his talents to use.
• Liu Ran fainted from fear, and the Empress ordered servants to carry him away.
• Jiang Shuyue asked about the Emperor's sex life, so he hurriedly left to avoid hearing Huahua's answer.
• Huahua revealed that the Emperor had written an Edict of Succession and hidden it in a brick beside his bed to protect the Crown Prince and Empress.

Jiang Shuyue learned that Yuzhou’s mudslides had left farmland damaged and reconstruction costly, then decided to raise money by collecting valuable old belongings from influential people. She left the palace with gifts from noble consorts and planned to seek items from famous men as well.

• The Empress gave Madam Yu three hundred taels of gold to help Yuzhou’s residents recover from the mudslides.
• Jiang Shuyue learned from Huahua that machines could not be redeemed and that Yuzhou needed more money for reconstruction.
• Jiang Shuyue took the Crown Prince’s handkerchief and began plotting to raise funds from wealthy families.
• Jiang Shuyue visited two noble consorts and collected gifts and unwanted old belongings by invoking the Zhou and Liu Families.
• Jiang Shuyue told Little Peach that she planned to collect things from famous men, including Prince Huai and the Imperial Preceptor.

Consort Shu’s plan to humiliate Jiang Shuyue failed when the Empress arranged for her to rest, so Consort Shu vowed to take revenge at the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet. At the banquet, Zhou Yunshen introduced Jiang Shuyue to three handsome Imperial College students, and her request for personal keepsakes left Zhou Xun asking whether it was proper in front of her husband.

• Consort Shu learned Jiang Shuyue would not visit and angrily threatened to disgrace her at the banquet.
• Jiang Shuyue arrived at the Golden Throne Hall and searched the gathered officials for handsome men while Zhou Yunshen watched.
• Jiang Shuyue judged a resentful young official after Huahua revealed he had abandoned his wife for a county princess and failed to advance at court.
• Zhou Yunshen introduced Jiang Shuyue to Zhou Xun and two other talented Imperial College students.
• Jiang Shuyue asked the three young men for personal items such as handkerchiefs, pouches, shoes, or socks, and Zhou Xun questioned whether that was proper in front of Zhou Yunshen.

Jiang Shuyue collected gifts and used tissues from the gathered nobles while Huahua revealed gossip about the Beichen heirs and their stern father. The chapter ended with everyone wondering whether the Prince of Beichen secretly cried after beating his sons.

• Zhou Yunshen scolded Zhou Xun, and Zhou Xun offered Jiang Shuyue fans and calligraphy instead of personal gifts.
• Murong Tianci and Prince Huai gave Jiang Shuyue boxes of keepsakes, prompting others to arrange gifts for her as well.
• Jiang Shuyue secretly took Zhou Yunshen's used tissue, and Lord Chu and the others began writing their names on tissues for her.
• Huahua announced the arrival of the Fourth Prince, the Second Prince, Beichen Qingfeng, and Beichen Qingyue, then described Beichen Qingfeng as an upright, flexible young man.
• Huahua revealed that the stern Prince of Beichen secretly loved pink and cried alone after disciplining his sons, leaving the officials shocked.

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Jiang Shuyue and the Beichen brothers learned embarrassing secrets about the Prince of Beichen while Zhou Yunshen shielded her from the Fourth Prince. The Prince of Beichen arrived with his wife, only to discover that Jiang Shuyue’s uncanny inner voice had exposed his romantic history.

• Huahua revealed that the Prince of Beichen had secretly watched over his sons and arranged romantic encounters for Beichen Qingyue, leaving both brothers shocked.
• Jiang Shuyue wondered whether she could sell the Prince of Beichen’s handmade bellybands, and Zhou Yunshen pulled her back to their seats.
• The Fourth Prince approached Zhou Yunshen, expressed disappointment that he would soon leave, and made a pointed remark about Jiang Shuyue’s innocence.
• Zhou Yunshen comforted Jiang Shuyue and held her close, while a young eunuch broke a teacup and was sent away.
• The Prince of Beichen arrived with the Princess Consort of Beichen, and Huahua exposed his old romantic excuses and secret embroidery habits through Jiang Shuyue’s thoughts.

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Jiang Shuyue’s comments about perfume, beauty, and marriage amused the Empress Dowager, who gave her a jeweled bracelet and invited her to sit nearby. Huahua then announced gossip about the Empress Dowager and the Late Emperor, leaving the Empress Dowager, Prince Huai, and the Emperor speechless.

• Jiang Shuyue and Huahua discussed the consorts’ strong perfumes and the palace’s spending, prompting the Empress Dowager to worry about Consort Shu’s expenses.
• Jiang Shuyue fretted that Zhou Yunshen might favor younger women as she aged, while Huahua warned her about cruel husbands and Jiang resolved to lose weight.
• The Empress Dowager welcomed the guests to her birthday banquet and asked Zhou Yunshen to bring Jiang Shuyue forward.
• The Empress Dowager gave Jiang Shuyue a jeweled gold bracelet, and Jiang hurried over to accept it before Zhou Yunshen could react.
• The Empress Dowager invited Jiang Shuyue to sit beside her and view the birthday gifts.
• Huahua announced that her gossip concerned tales between the Empress Dowager and the Late Emperor, shocking the Empress Dowager, Prince Huai, and the Emperor.

Jiang Shuyue learned that the Empress Dowager, Count Yungui, and the Late Emperor had formed a tangled love triangle, while the Marquis of Zhennan had spent years managing their problems. The Empress Dowager’s resentment toward her son eased as she recalled the Late Emperor’s devotion, and the story ended with Jiang Shuyue lamenting the triangle’s unhappy feel.

• Huahua explained that the Empress Dowager had mistaken Count Yungui for her rescuer and fallen in love with him, while the Late Emperor had loved her.
• Huahua revealed that Count Yungui had loved the Late Emperor and had risked his life to serve him, while the Marquis of Zhennan repeatedly rescued him from trouble.
• The Empress Dowager recalled the Late Emperor’s special kindness toward her, and her gloom over the past gradually lifted.
• Huahua described how the Marquis of Zhennan used tears and theatrics to keep the Late Emperor and Count Yungui’s behavior from attracting suspicion.
• Jiang Shuyue concluded that the Marquis of Zhennan had been the busiest man in Great Zhou and called the three-way romance a bad-ending story.

Jiang Shuyue learned how the Late Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and Count Yungui had loved each other in ways they never understood, leaving the Empress Dowager to regret her mistaken identity and the life it cost her. At the Empress Dowager’s banquet, Consort Shu provoked Jiang Shuyue, who turned the encounter to her advantage and gained favor and Green Tea Points.

• Huahua told Jiang Shuyue that the Late Emperor had died believing the Empress Dowager loved him, while Count Yungui had been buried with the Late Emperor’s letter calling him family.
• The Empress Dowager recalled how mistaking her savior had made her cold to the Late Emperor and caused her to mistreat her eldest son.
• Consort Shu questioned Jiang Shuyue’s behavior, drawing angry looks from the elderly ministers and prompting Jiang Shuyue to respond with a tearful display of gratitude and humility.
• Liu Chengze apologized for failing to instruct Jiang Shuyue, and the Empress Dowager praised her and said she would have adopted her if she were unmarried.
• Huahua revealed Zhou Yunshen’s childhood mischief, and the Empress Dowager took satisfaction in hearing about it while Zhou Yunshen felt embarrassed.
• The Empress Dowager dismissed Consort Shu and began the banquet, while Huahua announced that Jiang Shuyue’s Green Tea Points had risen to 300%.

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Jiang Shuyue exposed Lan Ruoyue’s lotus-footprint trick and learned that Lan’s Liena cream could ruin skin, so she claimed the box for herself. The Jin and Meng envoys arrived and exchanged barbed words with Zhou Yunshen and Liu Chengze.

• Jiang Shuyue envied the Empress Dowager’s fortune as the princes and other guests presented birthday gifts.
• Lan Ruoyue entered leaving red lotus prints, and Jiang Shuyue revealed that scented powder in her shoes created the effect.
• Lan Ruoyue presented Liena cream, and Huahua warned that it would ruin the Empress Dowager’s face.
• Jiang Shuyue asked for the cream as her gift, and the Empress Dowager granted it to her.
• Jin San and Meng Taiqi entered, and Jiang Shuyue learned that both had fought Zhou Yunshen and lost.
• Meng Taiqi insulted the palace, and Liu Chengze answered with a pointed remark about the Meng Tribe’s understanding of Han culture.

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Zhou Yunshen and Lan Ruoyue traded barbs with Jin San while Meng Taiqi challenged Great Zhou to a contest. Jiang Shuyue and Huahua exposed the two foreign princes’ scandalous private lives, leaving the court stunned and Jiang determined to keep Zhou Yunshen away from them.

• Meng Taiqi accused Great Zhou of winning through underhanded tricks, and Zhou Yunshen defended his wartime tactics while Jin San taunted him about Lan Ruoyue.
• Lan Ruoyue introduced herself to Jin San, and Zhou Yunshen and Prince Huai praised her to stir Jin San’s interest.
• Meng Taiqi insulted Jin San and proposed a contest to liven up the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, challenging Zhou Yunshen to accept.
• Jiang Shuyue and Huahua revealed that Jin San had pursued his father’s women and that Meng Taiqi had impregnated three of the khan’s favorite consorts, shocking the court officials.
• Jiang Shuyue grabbed Zhou Yunshen’s arm and forbade him from going near Meng Taiqi, warning that his stupidity and filth might be contagious.

At a banquet, Zhou Yunshen and the others turned the foreign princes’ demand for a fight into a high-stakes wager, and Jiang Chen faced Meng Taiqi in the opening match. Jiang Chen threw Meng Taiqi aside, but Meng Taiqi drew a broadsword, prompting Jiang Shuyue to accuse him of fighting dishonorably.

• Zhou Yunshen intimidated Meng Taiqi with a flying teacup lid, while Jiang Shuyue defended Great Zhou against Lan Ruoyue’s pleas for harmony.
• Jiang Wujie and Liu Chengze supported refusing the challenge, and Murong Tianci proposed a wager involving border trade rights and five hundred thousand taels of silver.
• The emperor added the Mulan Hunting Grounds to the stakes, and Meng Taiqi and Jin San argued over who would fight for their kingdoms.
• Jiang Chen accepted the challenge and used his strength to throw Meng Taiqi away when the prince tried to lift him.
• Meng Taiqi drew a broadsword, and Jiang Shuyue called him a fat punk with no honor.

Jiang Chen defeated Mongol crown prince Meng Taiqi in a martial contest, and Jiang Shuyue and the court forced the Mongol envoys to honor their wager. The envoys departed in humiliation after discovering Meng Taiqi’s saber had become lodged in his backside.

• Jiang Chen used his knowledge of Mongol fighting styles to strike Meng Taiqi’s injured shoulder and then kicked him down, breaking his leg and injuring his crotch.
• The Mongol envoys threatened retaliation, but Jiang Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen reminded them that rejecting the wager would expose the Mongol Kingdom as unable to accept defeat.
• Liu Chengze threatened to cancel the trade agreement, while Huahua revealed that Great Zhou had been selling the Mongols grain and cloth at a discount to help them survive winter.
• The Mongol envoy accepted the outcome, but Meng Taiqi cried out in pain when the envoys tried to lift him and everyone saw a curved saber lodged between his cheeks.
• Jiang Shuyue joked about the saber and wished she could watch it being removed, embarrassing Madam Jiang as the Mongol envoys hurried away.

Jiang Chen received a residence and Lin Shuangshuang was granted a noblewoman’s title after his diplomatic success, while Jiang Shuyue discovered a plot to ruin her reputation during the imperial banquet. She knocked out the palace maid involved and left her with the maid’s lover before heading to the privy.

• The emperor rewarded Jiang Chen with a residence and granted Lin Shuangshuang a Third-Rank Noblewoman’s Title, then postponed assigning Jiang Chen demanding duties.
• Jin San denied that Great Jin had taken part in the wager, and the emperor deferred discussion with the Jin Kingdom as the birthday banquet began.
• Jiang Shuyue enjoyed the banquet dishes until she needed to leave for the privy, and Huahua realized the palace maid guiding her had been paid to frame her.
• Jiang Shuyue tricked the maid into looking up, knocked her unconscious, and carried her behind an artificial rockery near the maid’s lover.
• Jiang Shuyue left to take care of her business, planning to return and inspect what happened.

At the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet, Jiang An accused Jiang Shuyue of adultery and claimed she was not his biological daughter, while Jiang Huayue raised doubts about his story. As Zhou Yunshen and the others went to investigate, Jiang Wujie and Jiang Chen resolved to risk their careers to save Jiang Shuyue if she had been framed.

• A young eunuch reported that Jiang Shuyue was committing adultery, and Zhou Luming and Jiang Wujie and Jiang Chen defended her while suspecting a setup.
• Jiang An claimed that the real Jiang Shuyue had died as a baby and that another girl had been brought home in her place, then said she had known the truth and been mistreated.
• Jiang Huayue said she recognized Jiang Shuyue from Liu Family Village and recalled that a girl there had been beaten by Old Woman Liu after being sold into the village.
• Zhou Yunshen warned that he would punish anyone who falsely insulted his wife, while others exposed Hua Rongyue as Liu Cheng’s concubine.
• The Empress Dowager ordered the group to go see what was happening, and Jiang Wujie and Jiang Chen vowed to risk their official careers to protect Jiang Shuyue if she had been framed.

Jiang Shuyue returned just as Jin San accused the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife of behaving illicitly, exposing a scheme to frame her. Huahua revealed evidence that the palace maid had seven lovers, and the Empress Dowager ordered her belongings investigated.

• Jin San taunted Zhou Yunshen and demanded that the people inside the rockery be brought out, while Jiang Chen tried to attack him.
• Jiang Shuyue arrived, and Lan Ruoyue’s suspicious remarks were challenged by the Empress and Jiang Chen.
• Zhou Yunshen ordered the eunuch restrained and guards to drag the people out of the rockery, where they found a drugged guard and a palace maid.
• The palace maid accused Jiang Shuyue of sending her there, but Jiang Shuyue claimed the maid had pointed her toward the privy and then made a show of being aggrieved.
• Huahua revealed that the palace maid had seven lovers and identified tokens linking her to them, prompting the Empress Dowager to order her belongings stripped and investigated.

The Empress Dowager exposed the palace maid’s illicit affair and ordered her eunuch lover tortured, while Zhou Yunshen turned the maid over to Jin San as a supposed gift from Great Zhou. Jiang Shuyue publicly kissed Zhou Yunshen to rebuff Jin San, and he promised to teach her how to kiss.

• Eunuch Wang inspected the palace maid’s valuables, and the Empress Dowager’s attendants questioned why the young eunuch had falsely identified the culprit as the Marquis of Zhennan’s wife.
• Huahua revealed that the young eunuch was the palace maid’s longtime lover, and the Empress Dowager ordered him taken to the Cautious Punishment Bureau for torture.
• Zhou Yunshen asked that the palace maid be handed over to him, then presented her to Jin San as a return gift from Great Zhou.
• Jiang Wujie and Jiang Shuyue mocked Jin San’s interest in the Marquis’s wife, and Jin San angrily claimed that any woman would do for carrying on the family line.
• Jiang Shuyue kissed Zhou Yunshen in front of the assembled guests, and Zhou Yunshen gently kissed her back and offered to teach her.

At the palace, the Empress Dowager teased Zhou Yunshen about taking concubines and rewarded Jiang Shuyue, while Huahua revealed that the emperor and Empress Dowager had died tragically in the original novel. When Jiang An and Hua Rongyue challenged Jiang Shuyue’s identity, Huahua assured her she was the real Jiang Shuyue, and Bai Yulan kept pressing the accusation.

• The Empress Dowager joked that she would make Zhou Yunshen a eunuch if he ever took a concubine, then gave Jiang Shuyue a pair of jade ruyi scepters.
• Huahua revealed that the emperor and Empress Dowager had died together in the original novel, bringing the two closer as they considered their fate.
• Jiang An and Hua Rongyue accused Jiang Shuyue of not being the Jiang Family’s biological daughter, but Huahua assured her that she was the real Jiang Shuyue.
• Jiang An demanded justice from the emperor, and Jiang Shuyue accidentally insulted him aloud while criticizing the Jiang Family.
• Bai Yulan continued accusing Jiang Shuyue of impersonating the original girl, while Huahua and Jiang Shuyue mocked Bai Yulan’s one-sided love for Zhou Yunshen.

Jiang Shuyue exposed Hua Rongyue’s past as a courtesan and dismantled her claim that she had known Jiang Shuyue as a child. She asked the Empress Dowager to judge the lies and grant her justice, with Zhou Yunshen supporting her.

• Bai Yulan tried to defend Zhou Yunshen from deception, but he reminded her he had no siblings, and Jiang Shuyue mocked her interference.
• Hua Rongyue accused Jiang Shuyue of stealing another girl’s identity, but Jiang Shuyue revealed Hua Rongyue had been a famous courtesan in Hibiscus County.
• Jiang Shuyue pointed out that Hua Rongyue had been sold into a brothel at seven and could not have met her in the village as a child.
• Hua Rongyue gave false details about the village, and Jiang Shuyue corrected her claims about its tree, wells, and past disasters before asking the Empress Dowager for justice.
• Zhou Yunshen backed Jiang Shuyue’s plea, while Jiang An silently regretted teaming up with Hua Rongyue.