Recaps

After the palace’s rewards went to Liu Wan and her birth family, Madam Li and the Marquis’s household demanded a share. Liu Wan exposed their hypocrisy and defended her rewards, leaving Madam Li furious and their family dispute unresolved.

• Madam Li, Xie Jinzhao, Xie Jinqiu, and Li Duoduo criticized Liu Wan for directing the rewards to the Minister’s Residence and demanded that they belong to the Marquis’s Residence.
• Liu Wan reminded Madam Li that she had rejected Liu Wan’s original plan, then defended her birth family and warned that slandering an imperial lady was an offense.
• Madam Li ordered the matrons to seize Liu Wan, but Qing Sheng dropped her Iron Rod and flung two matrons away with her bare hands.
• Liu Wan rebuked Xie Jinzhao for refusing to donate, challenged Xie Jinqiu to give up his century-old ginseng, and mocked Li Duoduo for coveting the rewards.
• Madam Li called Liu Wan a shrew, and Liu Wan answered with a taunt.

Liu Wan stood her ground against Madam Li and Xie Jin'an while considering her future in the Marquis's Residence. An imperial decree then upended the household when Xie Jin'an, Madam Li, and Xu Rourou's brother were taken away.

• Madam Li accused Liu Wan of mistreating her and demanded that Xie Jin'an divorce her, but Xie Jin'an stopped short of confronting Liu Wan.
• Liu Wan reassured Xie Zi Mu and Xie Zi Xing, then learned Zi Xing's new servant had been badmouthing her.
• Wang Xia returned from watching the Front Courtyard and revealed that the imperial decree ordered Xie Jin'an, Madam Li, and Xu Rourou's brother to be bound and taken away.

Liu Wan dealt with the household’s troubles while learning that Xie Zixing had been lured into using banned Happy Powder on Flower Street. She sent Qing Da and martial servants to seize two people, as Xie Zixing was confronted over a ten-thousand-tael bill.

• Wang Xia told Liu Wan that the heir and his wife had been sent to Anyuan County after being mistaken for Coal Mine Spirits.
• Wang Xia persuaded Xu Rourou to take Young Master Huai Shan to visit Fourth Master by suggesting he might manage the Marquis's Residence.
• Xie Zimu warned Liu Wan that Xie Zixing had gone to Flower Street, and Little Wanwan revealed that Madam Li had sent a servant to lead him there.
• Liu Wan sent Qing Da and martial servants to Flower Street to seize two people, despite the danger to her reputation.
• At a Gambling House, Xie Zixing learned he owed ten thousand taels for Happy Powder, and the Female Gambling Housekeeper's enforcers surrounded him when he could not pay.

Xie Zixing was rescued after a Gambling House lured him into taking banned Happy Powder and trapped him in a debt he could not pay. Liu Wan confronted him at the Xie Residence and made him choose between reforming and leaving, while Xie Zimu realized someone had deliberately harmed him.

• Xie Zixing refused to gamble or let the Female Gambling Housekeeper take him to the Marquis's Residence, so her thugs beat him until Qing Da arrived with servants and rescued him.
• Qing Da reported that the authorities had shut down the Gambling House, confiscated the powder, and taken Xie Zixing's servant into custody.
• Liu Wan scolded Xie Zixing for neglecting his studies and her teachings, while he begged her forgiveness and asked Xie Zimu to plead for him.
• Xie Zimu turned away, but Xie Zixing heard his sister's thoughts and realized he had been tricked into taking the powder.
• Liu Wan gave Xie Zixing the choice to study, train, and quit the powder or leave the Xie Residence; he chose to stay and promised to change.
• Xie Jinzhao defended Xie Zixing's right to enjoy himself, but Liu Wan challenged his motives, and he fell silent.

Xie Zimu reminded Xie Zixing of their painful past and urged him to value Liu Wan’s care, while Xie Zixing worked through his addiction and tried to improve. Liu Wan encouraged Qing Sheng to share her first homemade pastries with her father, and Qing Sheng agreed to bring him along that evening.

• Liu Wan rewarded Qing Da and criticized people who led others astray, leaving Xie Jinzhao unable to respond.
• Xie Zimu told Xie Zixing about his mother’s death and how Liu Wan had given him a new life, prompting Xie Zixing to promise to work hard.
• Xie Zimu resolved to earn his scholarly honors ten years early so Xie Huaishan could not take them from him.
• Xie Zixing endured withdrawal, gradually recovered, and began studying and helping around Liu Wan’s courtyard.
• Liu Wan asked Qing Sheng about her friend Xiao Guo and encouraged her to share the pastries she learned to make with her father.
• Qing Sheng thanked Liu Wan and decided to take her father with her that evening.

Qing Da discovered that Xie Jinzhao and Xiao Guo had set a trap for Qing Sheng, then beat Xie Jinzhao after he mistook Qing Da for his daughter. The household gathered in Third Master's courtyard, where Qing Da accused Xie Jinzhao of trying to assault Qing Sheng.

• Qing Sheng practiced shaping pastries with Xiao Guo while Qing Da waited outside the kitchen.
• Xiao Guo gave Qing Sheng fruit wine, then pretended to have a stomachache and left; Qing Da found Qing Sheng unconscious inside.
• Xie Jinzhao entered the dark kitchen, mistook Qing Da for Qing Sheng, and tried to seduce him.
• Qing Da punched and kicked Xie Jinzhao out of the kitchen, then beat him while servants gathered to watch.
• The supervising matron brought Xie Jinqiu to Third Master's courtyard, and Qing Da accused Xie Jinzhao and Xiao Guo of plotting to assault Qing Sheng.
• Xu Rourou arrived with her child and covered the child's eyes after seeing the half-dressed Xie Jinzhao.

After Xie Jinzhao’s assault on Qing Sheng was exposed, Xie Jinqiu tried to handle the household dispute but was publicly undermined. He asked Liu Wan to take charge, yet Little Wanwan’s thoughts revealed his hidden schemes, so Liu Wan sent him to the Old Madam, who warned Xie Jinzhao that his scandal could jeopardize Xie Jinqiu’s marriage to the wealthy Zhong Family’s Daughter.

• Qing Da reenacted Xie Jinzhao’s words, and Xie Jinzhao admitted he wanted to take Qing Sheng as a concubine or expel her and her father.
• Xie Jinzhao mocked Xie Jinqiu’s authority, and Xie Jinqiu told him the matter was not over.
• Xie Jinqiu visited Liu Wan and asked her to take charge of the household after the incident left him anxious.
• Little Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that Xie Jinqiu was a schemer who would exploit Fourth Aunt’s wealth and secretly harm Liu Wan.
• Liu Wan advised Xie Jinqiu to take the dispute to the Old Madam, and he brought her century-old ginseng before doing so.
• The Old Madam rebuked Xie Jinzhao and warned that his scandal could make the Zhong Family break off Xie Jinqiu’s engagement, costing the residence vital wealth.

Xie Jinqiu was ordered to settle Xie Jinzhao’s attempt to assault Qing Sheng by offering her family money or threatening to have her drowned. After Qing Da and Qing Sheng sought Liu Wan’s advice, she urged them to demand more silver, while Little Wanwan tried to get in on the household gossip.

• Old Madam told Xie Jinzhao to apologize to Qing Da and Qing Sheng, and ordered Xie Jinqiu to offer them money or threaten to drown Qing Sheng in a pig cage.
• Xu Rourou brought Xie Huaishan to Xie Jinqiu, who asked whether the infant was truly destined to join the Imperial Family’s genealogy and hinted he might acknowledge him as his son.
• A hidden onlooker saw Xie Jinqiu straighten Xu Rourou’s hairpin, and Wang Xia later whispered what she had witnessed to Liu Wan.
• Qing Da and Qing Sheng thanked Liu Wan for protecting Qing Sheng, then told her Xie Jinqiu had offered them money to keep quiet or threatened them with her death.
• Liu Wan advised Qing Da and Qing Sheng to take advantage of Xie Jinzhao’s apology by asking for more silver.

Liu Wan disciplined Little Wanwan for sneaking donkey-hide gelatin cake, then planned a palace visit and her elder brother’s wedding while the Zhong Family moved to end its engagement with Xie Jinqiu. Xie Jinqiu pleaded with Liu Wan to use her standing to save the match, leaving her facing his request to vouch for him.

• Qing Da and his daughter accepted Liu Wan’s advice to leave and wait for a chance to take revenge.
• Little Wanwan secretly sucked on donkey-hide gelatin cake, suffered a nosebleed, and was punished alongside Xie Zixing.
• Xie Zixing learned from his sister’s thoughts that his father had a mistress and resolved to train harder and smash the gifts his father had given Liu Wan.
• Liu Wan told Pan Chun she would visit the palace to help prepare the Princess’s dowry before attending her elder brother’s wedding, and she ordered Wang Xia to find a baby-food cook.
• The Zhong Family demanded to break Xie Jinqiu’s engagement because he kept a mistress who had borne him a child.
• Xie Jinqiu asked Liu Wan to clear his name and persuade the Zhong Family to preserve the marriage.

Xie Jinqiu tried to pressure Liu Wan into helping him preserve his engagement to the Zhong Family, but she refused and Little Wanwan reflected the Old Madam’s curses back onto her. The Old Madam suffered a stroke and was left helpless as the household struggled to care for her, and the chapter ended when a nanny brought her a letter.

• Xie Jinqiu accused Liu Wan of opposing his marriage to Zhong Youyan and tried to force her to receive Madam Zhong, but Liu Wan sent word that she would support the Zhong Family’s decision to end the engagement.
• When Xie Jinqiu’s men blocked Qing Sheng, she threw them outside and went to deliver Liu Wan’s message.
• The Old Madam prayed for misfortune to befall Liu Wan, and Little Wanwan reflected the curses back onto her.
• The Old Madam suffered a stroke and collapsed, while Xie Jinzhao and Xie Jinqiu struggled to find people willing to care for her.
• The Residence Physician treated the Old Madam, who regained consciousness that evening but could not get up.
• A nanny hurried in and handed the Old Madam a letter.

Zhong Youyan learned from Mama Qing that Xie Jinqiu had a biological son, then sent the Zhong Family to publicly shame the Marquis’s Residence. Liu Wan refused to intervene directly and sent the Third Master to handle the escalating scandal.

• Madam Zhong told Zhong Youyan that Liu Wan respected the Zhong Family’s decision, but Zhong Youyan insisted she would not marry Xie Jinqiu if the rumors were true.
• Zhong Youyan abducted Mama Qing and her old friend, then paid Mama Qing to reveal that Young Master Huai Shan was Xie Jinqiu’s biological son.
• The Zhong Family hurled dung outside the Marquis’s Residence, and the hired women abused and splashed Xie Jinqiu until he collapsed.
• Liu Wan told Wang Xia to summon the Third Master, while Pan Chun noted that sending him would make the situation more interesting.

Xie Jinzhao tried to silence the Zhong Family’s public protest over Fourth Master Xie’s affair, but his servants’ violence drew Qin Yan and Lord Qin into the dispute. The chapter ended with Qing Da bringing out the bound, gagged Zhong Family women, making the kidnapping accusation harder to deny.

• Xie Jinzhao came to the Marquis’s Residence gate and found it covered in dung while Zhong Family women publicly accused Fourth Master Xie of keeping a mistress and fathering a child before marriage.
• Xie Jinzhao ordered his servants to seize the protesting women and beat the crowd; Qing Da struck Qin Yan, and the servants took the women inside.
• Xie Jinzhao offered to dissolve the engagement if the Zhong Family’s young lady met Fourth Master Xie at the Emerald Mist House.
• Qin Yan brought Lord Qin to confront Xie Jinzhao, and townspeople confirmed that the Marquis’s Residence servants had beaten the crowd.
• Xie Jinzhao denied kidnapping anyone and ordered the Zhong Family women brought out, while Qing Da gagged them before presenting them.

Lord Qin arrested Xie Jinzhao after Qing Da framed him with the bound serving women, while Xie Jinqiu followed his brother’s advice and drugged Zhong Youyan at their meeting. After the Zhong Family discovered what happened, Zhong Youyan agreed to marry into the Jing'an Marquis Manor, leaving its household facing her anger.

• Lord Qin had Xie Jinzhao arrested after finding three bound serving women, and Xie Jinzhao realized Qing Da had set him up.
• Xie Jinqiu told Xu Rourou he intended to marry Zhong Youyan and later read a letter from the arrested Xie Jinzhao advising him to force the marriage.
• At the Emerald Mist House, Xie Jinqiu drugged Zhong Youyan and caught her as she collapsed, then attempted to take advantage of her.
• Little Lucky Star raised the alarm, and the Zhong Family arrived and took Zhong Youyan and Xie Jinqiu back to their estate.
• After learning her clansmen had plotted against her and seeing her paralyzed Hidden Guard, Zhong Youyan angrily agreed to marry.

Liu Wan entered the palace with Little Wanwan and learned that Consort Ling’s worsening leg condition was caused by a ghost. After Little Wanwan was buried beneath the coral tree with the Empress Dowager and appeared to rejuvenate her, the Empress Dowager decided to make her a princess.

• Liu Wan heard that Xie Jinqiu’s engagement scandal had ended with the Zhong Family setting a wedding date, then declined her Charity Hall duty because she was going to the palace for the Fifth Princess’s wedding.
• Liu Wan learned from a eunuch that Consort Ling could no longer move her legs, while Little Wanwan sensed that a legless ghost was haunting her and hinted that a Late Emperor’s consort was involved.
• The Empress Dowager welcomed Little Wanwan beneath the coral tree and had a pit filled with soil so they could lie buried together.
• The Empress Dowager emerged feeling better and looking decades younger, while Little Wanwan ate dirt and called her a pretty big sister.
• The Empress Dowager declared that she would make Little Wanwan a princess, despite the child’s attempts to invoke her parents and grandmother.

The Empress Dowager brought Little Wanwan to the Imperial Study and proposed making her a princess, even suggesting harsh punishments for anyone who objected. The emperor heard Little Wanwan’s thoughts and delighted in her praise, but the Empress Dowager’s threats left him grimacing.

• The Empress Dowager decided to take Little Wanwan to meet the emperor and make her a princess, while Liu Wan stayed behind with Xia Zhao.
• At the Imperial Study, the emperor and ministers discussed flood relief and agreed that Marquis Jing'an's Heir Apparent and his companions could remain in Anyuan County.
• The Empress Dowager arrived muddy with Little Wanwan, and the emperor dismissed Minister Liu after Little Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that the Empress Dowager wanted privacy.
• Little Wanwan praised the emperor’s looks in her thoughts and smoothed the furrows from his brow, making him beam because he alone could hear her.
• The Empress Dowager demanded that the emperor make Little Wanwan a princess and threatened prison, confiscation, and execution for those who resisted.

The emperor misunderstood Little Wanwan’s explanation of how the Empress Dowager became beautiful and arranged to be buried with her in coffins. Liu Wan and Xia Siheng arrived at the Imperial Bedchamber to find the emperor and Wanwan in the middle of the burial.

• The Empress Dowager beat the emperor for refusing to make Little Wanwan a princess, while Minister Liu overheard their conversation and fled in terror.
• After the Empress Dowager left, the emperor asked Little Wanwan how she had made her beautiful, and she tried to explain that they had been buried in a pit.
• The emperor mistook her explanation as instructions to bury them again and ordered Eunuch Yu to prepare two coffins.
• Eunuch Yu told Liu Wan that only the Ninth Prince could save the emperor and her daughter, so Liu Wan went to find Consort Ling.
• The emperor had Little Wanwan lie in a yellow rosewood coffin, then climbed into his own coffin and ordered the servants to bury them together.
• Xia Siheng arrived at the Imperial Bedchamber with Liu Wan, who nearly fainted at the sight.

Liu Wan rescued Xia Wanwan from a coffin, while Xia Siheng exposed the emperor’s burial-game ruse and confronted him about involving the child. In the side hall, Xia Siheng heard Xia Wanwan’s thoughts praising his looks and was invited by Liu Wan to visit his mother, Consort Ling.

• Liu Wan rushed to the small coffin and lifted Xia Wanwan out after the child poked her head through the lid, then scolded her for frightening her.
• Xia Siheng kicked open the emperor’s coffin and ordered Eunuch Yu to pull the emperor out, then sent Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan to a side hall.
• After everyone left, the emperor sat up and explained that he had buried himself with Xia Wanwan because he believed she improved his appearance.
• Xia Siheng warned the emperor not to make Xia Wanwan a princess and said he would protect her and Liu Wan from trouble involving Jing'an Marquis Manor.
• In the side hall, Xia Wanwan’s thoughts praised Xia Siheng’s appearance, and he wondered whether the baby had spoken.
• Liu Wan asked after Consort Ling, and Xia Siheng invited her to visit his mother while she was in the palace.

Liu Wan visited Dowager Consort Ling with Little Wanwan, while Xia Siheng learned how Liu Wan and her late aunt had saved him as a child. Little Wanwan revealed in her thoughts that she could drive away the ghost haunting the Dowager Consort, and Xia Siheng resolved to keep her nearby; the chapter ended with him hearing the story of his adoption for the first time.

• Xia Siheng invited Liu Wan to Dowager Consort Ling's palace and took Little Wanwan outside while Liu Wan and the Dowager Consort talked.
• Little Wanwan thought that the ghost haunting Dowager Consort Ling might kill her by the next day, and Xia Siheng secretly heard her thoughts.
• Xia Siheng told Little Wanwan that a ghost had attached itself to his mother, and she thought that ghosts would have to greet her as their ancestor.
• At dinner, Dowager Consort Ling doted on Little Wanwan, who grabbed and sucked on a piece of pork belly.
• Dowager Consort Ling recounted how Liu Wan and her aunt found Xia Siheng unconscious in the snow and persuaded the Late Emperor to let her adopt him.
• Xia Siheng realized he had never known how he was found and looked at Liu Wan.

Liu Wan remembered how she had helped Xia Siheng as a neglected boy in the Cold Palace, while Xia Siheng realized their bond began long before he thought. When a headless female ghost attacked Consort Ling, Xia Wanwan subdued it and rode its head back to Xia Siheng.

• Liu Wan told Xia Siheng that she had once found him freezing in the Cold Palace and brought Consort Ling to save him.
• Xia Siheng recalled that he had loved Liu Wan too late and interrupted Consort Ling when she mentioned his past marriage plans.
• A female ghost attacked Consort Ling after Liu Wan left, and Xia Siheng used his dark jade pendant to shield her.
• Xia Siheng borrowed Xia Wanwan from Liu Wan and hurried back to Consort Ling's Imperial Bedchamber.
• Xia Wanwan pulled off the ghost's head, rode it around the palace, and brought it to Xia Siheng.

Xia Siheng questioned the ghost woman haunting Consort Ling and learned that Consort Man had betrayed her and that a Taoist from the Nanmei Kingdom was aiding Former Dynasty Rebels. Xia Wanwan secretly marked the ghost with milk, while Xia Siheng realized she wanted to become a princess.

• Xia Wanwan debated whether to use her spiritual energy to save Consort Ling while Xia Siheng recovered from seeing her ride the ghost woman.
• Xia Siheng questioned the ghost, who revealed she was Xiao Ju and had been haunting Consort Ling to avenge Consort Man.
• Xia Siheng and Consort Ling explained that Consort Man had betrayed Xiao Ju and been executed for her affairs, leaving Xiao Ju furious at her former friend.
• Xiao Ju revealed that a Taoist from the Nanmei Kingdom had promised to help her reincarnate if she killed Consort Ling, and Xia Wanwan helped put Xiao Ju's head back on backward.
• Xia Wanwan secretly marked Xiao Ju with milk and thought her soul would perish at dawn, while Xia Siheng picked up that she wanted to be a princess.

Xia Siheng asked the emperor to make Xia Wanwan a princess, and the emperor agreed after claiming an Old Immortal had warned him to honor her. Liu Wan returned to the Liu Residence with Xia Wanwan for her elder brother’s wedding, where the family welcomed them and Minister Liu suggested sending the unusually precocious child to school when she turned two.

• Liu Wan concealed the palace maid’s story about Xia Wanwan riding the female ghost’s head and asked Xia Siheng and Consort Ling to keep the nighttime visit secret.
• Xia Siheng woke the emperor and asked to borrow his throne so Xia Wanwan could become a princess; the emperor agreed after recounting his dream of the Old Immortal.
• Liu Wan helped the Fifth Princess prepare her dowry, then returned to the Liu Residence with Xia Wanwan and reunited with Lady Liu.
• Liu Wan dressed Xia Wanwan in red for the wedding, and the guests praised the child and filled her pocket with red envelopes.
• At the wedding feast, Xia Wanwan asked for meat, and Minister Liu marveled at her early speech before suggesting she attend school at two.

After Xia Wanwan revealed that a spy in the Minister's Residence would destroy her family, Liu Wan arranged a cooking contest to identify him. The chapter ended with Uncle Li winning the contest and Xu Bo leaving in displeasure.

• Xia Wanwan's thoughts warned the family that a spy named Xu Bo would kill Uncle Li and later help bring ruin upon the Minister's Residence, so Liu Wan arranged a cooking contest between them.
• Liu Ye and Xia Zhao completed their wedding-night rituals, and the next day Xia Zhao gave Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan two bolts of rare Shu brocade.
• Liu Wan and Lady Liu visited the kitchens, where Uncle Li and Xu Bo prepared baby food for Xia Wanwan.
• After secretly having the food tested for poison, Liu Wan let Xia Wanwan choose between the dishes, and Xia Wanwan picked Uncle Li's meat soup.
• Xu Bo left the dining hall in displeasure after Liu Wan chose Uncle Li.

Xu Bo tried to poison Uncle Li after learning the Marquis's Residence was in turmoil, but Xia Wanwan stopped Uncle Li from tasting the tainted food. When Uncle Li started to leave with her, Xu Bo attacked him to keep the poisoning from being exposed.

• Xu Bo went to a medicine shop to deliver information and learned that the Old Madam was under house arrest and the Third Master had been arrested.
• Wang Xia and the others tracked Xu Bo, and Wang Xia replaced his medicine bottle with one containing laxative.
• Xu Bo returned to the kitchen and secretly poured the medicine into a dish meant for Uncle Li to taste.
• Xia Wanwan crawled into the kitchen, ate puréed meat, and warned Uncle Li not to eat Xu Bo's dish.
• Xu Bo slapped Xia Wanwan's hand when she cried out that the food was poisoned, and Uncle Li refused to help him taste it.
• As Uncle Li tried to leave with Xia Wanwan, Xu Bo grabbed him and forced his head down onto the counter, then tried to stuff the dish into his mouth.

Xia Wanwan exposed Xu Bo’s poisoning attempt, and Uncle Li turned the tables while the Liu family punished Xu Bo. Liu Ye showed Liu Wan the winter plum he had planted for her, but Liu Wan said it had bloomed too late.

• Xu Bo tried to poison Uncle Li, but Uncle Li fought back and forced Xu Bo to eat the food.
• Liu Wan and Lady Liu arrived, learned what Xu Bo had done, and ordered him beaten and sent to the Government Office.
• Xu Bo was jailed, where he encountered Xie Jinzhao and suffered the effects of the laxatives he had eaten.
• Liu Wan’s family gathered around Xia Wanwan and reassured her that Uncle Li was safe and Xu Bo had been punished.
• Liu Ye told Liu Wan he had planted a winter plum for her years ago, and Liu Wan replied that it was blooming five years too late.

Liu Wan learned from Xia Wanwan’s thoughts that Liu Shi had been deceived into accepting Li Duoduo’s love token, and she arranged to investigate the match rather than oppose him outright. When Liu Wan returned to the Marquis’s Residence, Qing Da warned that the household was in crisis over unpaid wages and Fourth Master was preparing to kill several servants.

• Liu Shi returned from disaster relief and told Liu Wan he expected a promotion and wanted to marry Li Duoduo, who had treated his wounds.
• Xia Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that Li Duoduo had staged the cat attack and was secretly involved with Third Uncle while courting Liu Shi.
• Liu Shi heard Xia Wanwan’s thoughts and agreed to let Liu Wan investigate Li Duoduo before arranging a meeting.
• Liu Wan took her aunt’s jade pendant and traveled back to the Marquis’s Residence with Liu Shi and Xia Wanwan.
• Qing Da told Liu Wan that the residence could not pay its servants and Fourth Master was about to have several servants beaten to death.