Chapter Summaries

Liu Yuyan burned the Jiang Family’s claim to her possessions and severed ties with Jiang An, while Jiang Shuyue took the surname Liu. When Jiang An began gathering baleful energy, Zhou Yunshen kicked him into a wall and stopped him from becoming a baleful being.

• Old Madam Jiang escaped the burning carriage as Jiang An put out the flames, while Liu Yuyan declared that her children would all take the surname Liu.
• Liu Yuyan announced that her possessions would be inventoried and used to help the poor, then kicked Jiang An down and declared the Liu and Jiang families severed.
• Liu Shuyue accepted her new name and mocked Jiang An as Liu Chengze warned him to leave with Old Madam Jiang.
• Liu Chengze displayed the Imperial Edict and ordered Jiang An to leave, while Jiang An’s rage began gathering baleful energy.
• Zhou Yunshen kicked Jiang An into a courtyard wall, dispersing the baleful energy, then turned his attention to Old Madam Jiang.

After Liu Shuyue’s family dealt with Jiang An and changed the children’s surnames, the Palace Examination exposed corrupt candidates and admitted two men with useful talents. Chen Yongwang and Wang Dapeng were caught after fleeing, while their sons became Teacher Lan’s adopted children.

• Guards tied up Old Madam Jiang and Jiang An and carried them away, while Liu Shuyue joked about the sock stuffed into Old Madam Jiang’s mouth.
• Liu Chengze and Liu Yuyan arranged new household registrations, and Jiang Chen accepted the name Liu Chen after debating a change.
• The Palace Examination proceeded without Wang Dapeng and Chen Yongwang, and two substitutes with talents in construction and agriculture were admitted.
• The emperor approved the examination results, removing several candidates who had entered through favoritism and keeping the top three unchanged.
• Wang Dapeng and Chen Yongwang were arrested after causing a scene at a brothel, stripped of their scholarly honors, barred from examinations, and sentenced to punishment and exile.
• Teacher Lan changed Wang Peng’s name to Lan Yi and Chen Wang’s name to Lan Yan, adopted them, and drove Old Madam Zhuang away when she came to retrieve her grandson.

Liu Shuyue dreamed of her past life as a plant and the tribulation lightning that struck just as she was taking human form. She woke in Zhou Yunshen’s arms, shaken by the dream, while he tried to comfort her.

• Huahua told Liu Shuyue how Old Madam Zhuang and the Wang and Chen families had fallen into disgrace.
• Liu Shuyue fell asleep in a hammock and dreamed of her centuries as a plant on a mountain.
• In the dream, a man challenged the Heavenly Dao and rushed toward Liu Shuyue as tribulation lightning pursued him.
• Liu Shuyue woke as Zhou Yunshen caught her before she fell from the hammock.
• Zhou Yunshen reprimanded Three Flowers for dozing on guard, then comforted Liu Shuyue as she cried about her dream.

Liu Shuyue cried over a dream in which Zhou Yunshen was charred by lightning, prompting him to arrange lightning rods throughout their residences. After waking, she dismissed questions about the dream’s past-life meaning and learned that the Imperial Preceptor was occupied with temple masters planning to subdue the demoness.

• Liu Shuyue sobbed, pulled Zhou Yunshen’s hair, and made him promise not to curse the Heavenly Dao or tempt lightning; she and Zhou Yunshen spat in the courtyard to ward off bad luck.
• Zhou Sesong and Qing'er saw Liu Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen spitting and mistakenly concluded they were practicing martial arts to burn off pent-up energy.
• Liu Shuyue cried herself to sleep in Zhou Yunshen’s arms, and he ordered Zhou Shiye to arrange lightning rods at their residence and the Liu Family’s two residences.
• Five Flower wondered whether Liu Shuyue’s dream revealed a past life, but Liu Shuyue said the past did not matter and she wanted to live well in the present.
• After Liu Shuyue ate, Imperial Physician Zhao explained that the Imperial Preceptor was discussing how to subdue the demoness with masters from the National Temple, so he had been assigned to care for her.

Liu Shuyue learned that Lan Ruoyue was dying from a venereal disease and decided to visit her, while lightning rods and preparations for a devastating storm spread across Great Zhou. At the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence, Murong Tianci led Liu Shuyue into the Evil-Subduing Pagoda and down to an ancient underground site tied to the vanished Heaven-Reaching Sect.

• Liu Shuyue learned from Huahua that Lan Ruoyue had been isolated after an imperial physician diagnosed her with a venereal disease, and she insisted on visiting her with gifts.
• Murong Tianci explained that the emperor had ordered lightning rods installed across Great Zhou and that officials and merchants were preparing for the coming floods and storms.
• Murong Tianci warned Liu Shuyue to bring more guards, then secretly sent a message to the Liu Residence after learning she had cried.
• Murong Tianci brought Liu Shuyue and her companions to the Evil-Subduing Pagoda, where they passed through a scripture-lined corridor and entered its inner courtyard.
• Murong Tianci opened a hidden staircase, and Five Flower explained that the jade-paved Heaven-Reaching Road belonged to a branch of the long-vanished Heaven-Reaching Sect.

Liu Shuyue visited Lan Ruoyue, who was chained in a purification pool and undergoing a forty-nine-day ritual, and their conversation turned into a series of insults and revelations. Five Flower explained that it had boosted Lan Ruoyue’s Fortune Value and given her items before choosing her as a host.

• Master Huiming’s disciple gave Liu Shuyue a Bodhi Seed and warned her not to approach Lan Ruoyue in the pool.
• Liu Shuyue tried to offer Lan Ruoyue a steamed bun, but it fell into the water, and Lan Ruoyue angrily told her to leave.
• Liu Shuyue and Lan Ruoyue traded insults, and Liu Shuyue declared that she loved Zhou Yunshen despite marrying him for his looks.
• Five Flower revealed Lan Ruoyue’s shallow and mercenary past, including her fixation on the male lead, her many suitors, and her abortion after an ultrasound.
• Five Flower admitted it had used a previous mission’s bonus to give Lan Ruoyue items and raise her Fortune Value before selecting her as a host.

Liu Shuyue defended Huahua against Lan Ruoyue’s insults and rejected her offer to join forces. After Lan Ruoyue threatened her, Five Flower appeared as a tiny humanoid in Liu Shuyue’s hand, bewildered by its new form.

• Lan Ruoyue guessed that Liu Shuyue had a system, and Liu Shuyue introduced Huahua as her gossip system.
• Lan Ruoyue disparaged Huahua and proposed that she and Liu Shuyue join forces, but Liu Shuyue refused.
• Lan Ruoyue warned Liu Shuyue that Zhou Yunshen might abandon her, and Liu Shuyue said she trusted Huahua and had nothing to fear.
• Five Flower felt guilty when Lan Ruoyue insulted it, so Liu Shuyue and Huahua rebuked Lan Ruoyue for blaming her system for her own failures.
• Lan Ruoyue threatened Liu Shuyue, who corrected her about her name and said her system had left her; a pink light emerged and Five Flower took a tiny humanoid form in Liu Shuyue’s hand.

Liu Shuyue helped Huahua realize that Five Flower had taken the form of a girl, and the three joked about the pair getting married. Five Flower confronted Lan Ruoyue over her abuse and betrayal, while Liu Shuyue taunted Lan Ruoyue with gossip about Chen Yongwang and Chen Yonggu.

• Huahua mistook Five Flower for a boy with an incomplete transformation until Liu Shuyue explained that Five Flower was a girl.
• Liu Shuyue teased Huahua and Five Flower about marriage, and they joked about wedding gifts and a feast for the systems.
• Lan Ruoyue insulted Five Flower for abandoning her, but Five Flower defended her choice to leave and Liu Shuyue protected her from Lan Ruoyue's lunge.
• Liu Shuyue mocked Lan Ruoyue's insults and revealed that Chen Yongwang and Chen Yonggu had caught a disease at a brothel, then hinted that one of them had used Lan Ruoyue's donkey.

Liu Shuyue left Lan Ruoyue to face the real formation, causing Lan Ruoyue's Fortune Value to fall to zero and earning Liu Shuyue 1,000 Fortune Value. After returning home with Five Flower, Liu Shuyue learned that her grandpa was chasing Zhou Yunshen and whipping him with a switch.

• Lan Ruoyue panicked and begged Liu Shuyue not to leave, but Liu Shuyue walked out and the door sealed behind her.
• Five Flower told Liu Shuyue that Lan Ruoyue's Fortune Value had fallen to zero and Liu Shuyue had gained 1,000 Fortune Value.
• Murong Tianci accepted Liu Shuyue's improvised explanation that Five Flower was a relative, and Liu Shuyue introduced her as Lu Sheng.
• Murong Tianci gave Five Flower girls' clothes and showed her around the Imperial Preceptor's Residence before the group left after lunch.
• When Liu Shuyue returned home, Huahua reported that her grandpa was chasing Zhou Yunshen through the house and whipping him with a rattan switch.

Liu Shuyue arrived to find Liu Chengze chasing Zhou Yunshen with a dragon-bone whip after hearing Zhou had made her cry. The two men stopped their chase to trade taunts, and Liu Chengze handed Liu Shuyue the whip and urged her to use it if Zhou ever misbehaved.

• Liu Shuyue found Liu Chengze trying to whip Zhou Yunshen, who stayed safely on the roof and teased him from above.
• Huahua explained that Liu Chengze had borrowed the prized Dragon Bone Whip and spent the day chasing Zhou around the house.
• Liu Chengze promised not to strike Zhou's face and tried to coax him down for three lashes.
• Liu Shuyue interrupted the quarrel, and Liu Chengze claimed he had only been checking whether Zhou's skills had deteriorated.
• Liu Chengze gave Liu Shuyue the whip and told her to beat Zhou if he ever betrayed or mistreated her.

Liu Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen went to the Shen Family to secretly investigate the family of Princess Chaohua’s future husband. After Liu Shuyue crawled through a dog hole, Zhou Yunshen followed and found himself in a place that seemed like another world.

• Zhou Yunshen hid behind Liu Shuyue and promised Liu Chengze he would never let her suffer a grievance.
• Zhou Yunshen pretended Five Flower was his daughter, Lu Sheng, and promised to buy her new clothes.
• Liu Shuyue learned that Zhou Yunshen had received so many gifts from ministers that they could cover the household’s expenses for two years.
• Zhou Yunshen declined his engagements and accompanied Liu Shuyue to the Shen Family to investigate Shen Chu, Princess Chaohua’s future husband.
• Liu Shuyue crawled through a dog hole in the Shen Family’s courtyard wall, and Zhou Yunshen followed her inside.
• Zhou Yunshen noticed that the scent changed as soon as he entered, as though he had stepped into another world.

Liu Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen sneaked into the rear courtyard, where Huahua revealed the cousins’ plans and financial troubles as they prepared to marry. Shen Chu learned that his grandfather had hidden thirty chests of treasure, while Shen Xin learned Zhou Yunshen expected him to marry into the Marquis’s family.

• Liu Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen avoided the servants and reached the rear courtyard after Zhou Yunshen crawled through a dog hole.
• The emperor, empress, and Empress Dowager laughed over a sketch of Zhou Yunshen crawling through the dog hole and planned to commemorate the incident.
• Liu Shuyue and Huahua revealed that Shen Chu had spent his savings on betrothal gifts and planned to sell his gold-thread underpants for more money.
• Huahua revealed that Shen Chu’s grandfather had hidden thirty chests of treasure in a burial chamber, so Shen Chu planned to ask him for help.
• Huahua revealed that Zhou Yunshen wanted Shen Xin to marry into the Marquis’s family, with their children taking the Shen and Zhou surnames in turn.

Shen Xin learned that his father had secretly gone fishing again, while Huahua revealed that a fishing companion had arranged for his daughter to become Shen Xin’s maid and target Zhou Yunshen. The girl arrived with tea and refreshments, and Liu Shuyue watched her approach.

• Huahua explained that Lord Shen had hidden over three thousand taels in his undershirt, and that Madam Shen had beaten him after discovering it.
• Madam Shen arrived looking for Lord Shen, and Huahua revealed he had climbed over the wall to go fishing after she broke his fishing rod.
• Huahua revealed that Lord Shen’s fishing companion had arranged for his daughter to become Shen Xin’s maid and try to seduce a suitable target in the Zhou Family.
• Huahua identified Zhou Yunshen as the intended target, and Liu Shuyue grew uneasy while Zhou Yunshen felt unfairly caught in the scheme.
• Huahua announced that the girl had arrived, and Liu Shuyue saw the young maid approach with tea and refreshments.

Liu Shuyue and Zhou Yunshen secretly watched Liu Yaying try to win over the Shen Family, only to discover that her imposing beard, excessive makeup, and remarkable physical abilities made her an unlikely seductress. Liu Yaying left to seek beard-removal medicine at the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence, while Zhou Yunshen considered her potential as a guard and confronted Liu Shuyue as she crawled out through a dog hole.

• Liu Shuyue and Huahua saw Liu Yaying’s heavily bearded face and learned that her ancestors’ traits had resurfaced in her generation.
• Liu Yaying served fruit juice to the Shen Family, but Madam Shen and the young masters avoided drinking it and reacted with alarm to Liu Yaying’s appearance.
• Madam Shen ordered Liu Yaying to remove her makeup, and Liu Yaying smeared her face by rinsing it in a water vat, frightening Madam Shen into falling from her chair.
• Shen Xin told Liu Yaying to shave her beard or seek medicine, so Liu Yaying rushed to the Imperial Preceptor’s Residence for treatment.
• Zhou Yunshen considered Liu Yaying’s strength and speed as possible assets for Luming’s personal guard, then found Liu Shuyue crawling out through the dog hole.

Zhou Yunshen took Liu Shuyue into the palace to gather vegetables, then arranged for the Shen brothers to receive Lan Ruoyue’s vacant shop and accepted responsibility for planning Wuzhou City’s commercial district. At the Empress’s Palace, the Fourth Prince met Five Flower and became captivated by her, suspecting she resembled the Marquis of Zhennan.

• Zhou Yunshen carried Liu Shuyue over the palace walls and took her to the Empress’s Palace to gather vegetables.
• Zhou Yunshen asked the emperor to give Lan Ruoyue’s vacant shop to Shen Chu and Shen Xin, while Liu Shuyue received a ten-percent share.
• The emperor assigned Zhou Yunshen to plan a commercial district in Wuzhou City.
• After waking from her nap, Liu Shuyue pulled radishes with Huahua and Five Flower in the Empress’s vegetable patch.
• The Fourth Prince found Liu Shuyue and the children, recognized Five Flower’s resemblance to the Marquis of Zhennan, and picked her up.

Liu Shuyue watched Five Flower bond with the Fourth Prince, who asked the baby to marry him and sought Liu Shuyue’s forgiveness for his past involvement with Lan Ruoyue. Liu Shuyue treated him warmly and gave him radishes, leaving the Fourth Prince puzzled by a gift without an ulterior motive.

• The Fourth Prince played with Five Flower, learned her name was Lu Sheng, and persuaded her to pinky swear that she would marry him when she turned fifteen.
• The Fourth Prince asked Liu Shuyue to forgive him, explaining that he had severed ties with Lan Ruoyue and had been ordered to oversee her execution.
• Liu Shuyue decided not to blame the young Fourth Prince for future events that had not happened and advised him to be wary of swindlers.
• Liu Shuyue gave the Fourth Prince several white radishes and invited him to her daughter’s future wedding banquet before carrying Five Flower away.
• The Fourth Prince questioned Sangshen about why Liu Shuyue had given him a gift, then smiled as he remembered Five Flower.

The Fourth Prince’s unusual portraits of Lu Sheng prompted the empress and crown prince to encourage their friendship, while Five Flower revealed the Fourth Prince’s cruel childhood. The chapter ended with Liu Shuyue rushing to protect the roast wild boar after Huahua warned that the emperor was sneaking toward it.

• The Fourth Prince chose to stay out of political affairs and returned with Sangshen, who prepared extra dishes for their meal.
• Huahua scolded Five Flower for being captivated by the Fourth Prince, then revealed that he had spent his study time painting portraits of her.
• The empress and crown prince recalled the Fourth Prince’s loneliness and poor health, and invited Lu Sheng to visit the Palace more often.
• Five Flower revealed that the Fourth Prince’s birth mother had abused and nearly poisoned him as an infant, then struck a bargain with Liu Shuyue for meals with him.
• Huahua warned that the emperor was sneaking toward the roast wild boar, and Liu Shuyue ran to the fire to check on it.

Liu Shuyue enjoyed the first roast wild boar of autumn with the emperor and her family, then witnessed the Second Prince’s disastrous departure for the Jin Kingdom. The chapter ended when Little Peach rushed Liu Shuyue to the Liu Family residence, where trouble was brewing.

• Liu Shuyue accused the emperor of trying to steal her roast wild boar, and Zhou Yunshen cut her the first bite.
• Liu Shuyue and the others shared the roast boar with the emperor, and Huahua revealed that the emperor had learned to cook while serving in the army.
• The Second Prince set off on his diplomatic mission to the Jin Kingdom, but his horse threw him and injured him before he left the capital.
• The Second Prince refused to turn back for treatment and forced a physician to accompany him, while Huahua told Liu Shuyue that the physician was a murderous quack.
• Little Peach hurried Liu Shuyue to the Liu Family residence, saying the Jiang Family was about to explode.

After Liu Shuyue’s former room burned down, she learned that Jiang Liuli had set the fire and was now hiding at her father’s home. Old Bai suspected Jiang Liuli and Liu Shuyue’s other enemies were preparing to target her on an upcoming occasion.

• Little Peach warned Liu Shuyue that her hidden diaries might be uncovered as workers cleared the burned remains of her room.
• Liu Shuyue rushed to the ruins, where Old Bai told her the suspicious fire had been reported for investigation.
• Huahua discovered that Jiang Liuli had entered the residence in a meat basket and set the room ablaze.
• Huahua found Jiang Liuli hiding at Liu Shuyue’s father’s home after she sold her house and stopped seeing the butcher.
• Old Bai concluded that Liu Shuyue’s enemies might strike on Princess Chaohua’s wedding day or the day Lan Ruoyue was beheaded.

Jiang Liuli confronted her family and blocked creditors who had come to collect money Jiang An had taken by promising merchants’ descendants success in the examinations. As the men demanded repayment, she used threats and a false accusation to drive them back, while Liu Shuyue learned that Jiang An still had nearly seventy thousand taels hidden in his trousers.

• Old Whitehead alerted the Ministries of Personnel and Punishments, prompting them to move against Jiang An.
• Jiang Liuli berated Old Madam Jiang for mistreating her, struck her, and refused her request for incense.
• Creditors came to Jiang An’s home demanding repayment after the court required merchants seeking examination access for their descendants to pay fifty thousand taels.
• Liu Shuyue and Huahua learned that Jiang An had hidden nearly seventy thousand taels in his trousers and that merchants had already paid six hundred thousand taels to the court.
• Jiang Liuli blocked the creditors, threatened to accuse them of molestation, and shouted that they were attacking her, making them back away.