Recaps

Liu Wan returned to the residence and confronted Xie Jinqiu and Xu Rourou over the unpaid servants' wages and the money taken from her dowry. After the accountant confirmed her account, the servants turned against Xie Jinqiu and Xu Rourou, and Uncle Li asked whether Xu Bo was Xu Rourou's father.

• Liu Wan arrived as a servant's body was being carried out and heard Xie Jinqiu blame the servants for causing trouble over their unpaid wages.
• A Meng explained that A Sheng had been beaten to death after asking about the wages, while Xu Rourou accused Liu Wan of having her father imprisoned out of jealousy.
• Liu Wan said she had contributed three thousand taels for six months of servants' wages and challenged Xie Jinqiu over diverting the money to the prison.
• The accountant confirmed Liu Wan's account, and the servants condemned Xie Jinqiu and Xu Rourou.
• Uncle Li stepped forward and asked Xu Rourou whether Xu Bo was her father.

Uncle Li exposed Xu Bo’s poisoning attempt and Xu Rourou’s family lost the household’s support. Liu Wan secured the servants’ confidence, arranged help for A Sheng’s family, and discovered that Nanny Rong had long delivered her switched medicine.

• Uncle Li told the crowd that Xu Bo had tried to poison him and struck Xia Wanwan, and he revealed that investigators had found poison in Xu Bo’s room.
• Xu Rourou collapsed, then drew comfort from Huai Shan and resolved not to give up.
• Xie Jinqiu confined Concubine Xu to the Charity Hall, while Liu Wan reassured the servants that Zhong Youyan’s upcoming marriage would bring money to the household.
• Liu Wan sent money for A Meng’s treatment and A Sheng’s burial, then gave Wang Xia a hundred taels to help A Sheng’s wife and daughters.
• Liu Wan stopped Nanny Rong from bringing her medicine and poured the latest bowl into a plant whose leaves had begun turning yellow.

Liu Wan left the dried Winter Plum flowers Xie Jin'an had given her and resolved to escape the Marquis's Residence with Wanwan. Two months later, while the household struggled through winter, Wanwan reflected that the villain uncle was the only one who could deal with the Male Lead.

• Liu Wan threw away the moldy Winter Plum flowers, and Xie Zixing took them to Qing Sheng as firewood.
• Nanny Rong told Xie Jinqiu that Liu Wan had discovered the drugs, and he accused Xu Rourou of knowing about the infertility medicine and the baby swap.
• Xie Jinqiu mocked Xie Huaishan for refusing to call him Father, while Xu Rourou defended the boy and later noticed she had styes.
• Two months later, Liu Wan's servants grilled meat in the courtyard while Xia Wanwan stood, chewed meat, and listened to them discuss Xie Huaishan's strange voice.
• Xia Wanwan thought about the Male Lead's cultivation-world soul and his role in the original novel, then decided the villain uncle was the only one who could deal with him.

Liu Wan presided over Xie Jinqiu’s wedding and prepared to discuss Liu Shi’s marriage, while Liu Shi followed Xia Wanwan into the Third Master’s courtyard to catch a supposedly extraordinary cat. The chapter left Liu Shi leaping over the wall after Xia Wanwan slipped through a small hole.

• Liu Wan asked Pan Chun to deliver a letter to her younger brother, urging him to get the Third Master out of prison and come himself.
• Xie Jinqiu brought Zhong Youyan home, and Liu Wan presided over their wedding because the household’s usual leaders were absent or unwell.
• Liu Shi visited Liu Wan, and she said they would invite Miss Li over after supper to discuss his marriage.
• After a maid reported that the cat was in the Third Master’s courtyard, Xia Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that it was a nearly spirit-like Cat Monster treasured by Madam Li.
• Liu Shi followed Xia Wanwan as she crawled through a cat-sized hole into the courtyard, then used his Lightness Skill to leap over the wall.

Liu Shi overheard Xie Jinzhao threatening Li Duoduo and discovered their affair, while Xia Wanwan’s thoughts made him suspect Li Duoduo had also betrayed his trust. Qing Da then led a crowd to expose the pair, and Xie Jinzhao and Li Duoduo were caught in the room as the door burst open.

• Liu Shi carried Xia Wanwan into Xie Jinzhao’s courtyard and heard Xie Jinzhao complain about his imprisonment while Li Duoduo treated his injuries.
• Xie Jinzhao threatened Li Duoduo into continuing their affair and reminded her that they had plotted together to make a cat scratch Liu Shi.
• Liu Shi overheard them and grew furious, while Xia Wanwan’s thoughts suggested Li Duoduo would continue cheating on him after marriage.
• Qing Sheng and Wang Xia spread news of a scandal in Xie Jinzhao’s courtyard, and Zhong Youyan hurried there with Wang Xia while Xie Jinqiu followed after treating his injuries.
• Qing Da led servants to Xie Jinzhao’s room, announced that a wildcat had attacked Third Master, and kicked the door open as Xie Jinzhao and Li Duoduo scrambled to react.

Qing Da dragged a naked Xie Jinzhao before the gathered household and claimed he had rescued him from a wild cat, humiliating him in front of everyone. Xie Jinqiu accused Liu Wan of helping stage the incident, and a nearby meow interrupted their argument.

• Li Duoduo hid under the quilt as Qing Da barged into Xie Jinzhao's room and shouted that a wild cat had scratched Third Master.
• Qing Da dragged the naked Xie Jinzhao into the courtyard, where the residence's masters and servants saw him and he fainted from humiliation.
• Xie Jinqiu had a robe placed over Xie Jinzhao, then questioned Liu Wan about Qing Da's account.
• Qing Da reported that the wild cat had escaped, and Xie Jinqiu accused Liu Wan of helping him disgrace Third Brother.
• A cat meowed nearby as a child's voice urged it to hurry.

Liu Wan confronted Xie Jinqiu after Xia Wanwan and Liu Shi brought the cat accused of scratching Liu Shi before the household. Li Duoduo was exposed in Xie Jinzhao's room, and Liu Shi rejected her and ended their connection.

• Xia Wanwan cried that the cat had bullied her, while Liu Shi identified it as the one that scratched him.
• Liu Wan made Xie Jinqiu apologize to her and Qing Da, and Zhong Youyan persuaded him to comply.
• Serving women uncovered Li Duoduo, who begged Liu Wan and Liu Shi to believe she was innocent and reminded Liu Shi that she had saved him.
• Liu Shi accused Li Duoduo of manipulating the scratch and her rescue, then threw down her embroidered pouch and left, declaring them strangers.
• Xia Wanwan celebrated Liu Shi's decision and pleaded to teach the cat a lesson as Liu Wan took charge of the matter.

Zhong Youyan took charge of the Marquis's Residence and arranged for Li Duoduo to marry Xie Jinqiu's third son. After Xu Rourou questioned her decision, Zhong Youyan had her beaten, while Xu privately vowed that she and Xie Huaishan would eventually defeat their enemies.

• Liu Wan ordered Qing Da to take the fat cat away after it scratched her younger brother, and the cat obeyed after Xia Wanwan threatened it telepathically.
• Xie Jinqiu left the household's affairs to Zhong Youyan, who ordered Little Lucky Star to send Li Duoduo's birth details to the Li Family and arrange an auspicious wedding date.
• Xu Rourou questioned Zhong Youyan's decision to settle Li Duoduo's marriage, and Zhong ordered her maids to slap Xu.
• Xie Huaishan threatened Zhong Youyan while she was having Xu beaten, but Zhong left only after Xu's face had swollen.
• Xu comforted Xie Huaishan and vowed that they would eventually rise in status and take revenge on Zhong Youyan and Liu Wan.

Liu Wan confronted Liu Shi after learning he had taken Xia Wanwan to overhear a scandal, then discovered Wanwan had made Madam Li’s cat bark like a dog. The cat stayed with Wanwan, and Liu Wan was summoned to meet Madam Li and the Heir Apparent.

• Liu Shi admitted he had taken Xia Wanwan near Third Master Xie's room while trying to catch Madam Li's cat, and Liu Wan scolded him for exposing the baby to danger.
• Liu Shi told Liu Wan he could hear Xia Wanwan's thoughts, and Liu Wan made him promise to keep the secret before striking his palm lightly with a ruler.
• Qing Sheng explained that Xia Wanwan had cried because the cat would not bark like a dog, and the cat finally barked when Liu Shi and a girl with a spiked club threatened it.
• Xia Wanwan called the cat her dog and promised to help it cultivate into a spirit when she turned three, prompting the cat to follow her happily.
• Wang Xia announced that Madam Li and the Heir Apparent had returned and were asking Liu Wan to come over.

After Xie Jin'an and Madam Li returned to the Marquis's Residence, Madam Li clashed with Liu Wan over her treatment and the Third Master's marriage. Xie Jin'an challenged Liu Wan's authority to arrange the wedding, but an unexpected woman claimed she had made the decision.

• Madam Li berated Liu Wan for failing to write during the family's disaster-relief stay, and Liu Shi defended his sister and condemned Madam Li's treatment of her.
• Liu Wan revealed that Xie Jinzhao was set to marry, prompting Madam Li to accuse her of forcing him to wed a disreputable woman.
• A serving woman explained that Li Duoduo had been caught with Xie Jinzhao, who was badly injured after being scratched by Madam Li's beloved tabby cat; Madam Li fainted when she learned what happened.
• Xie Jin'an thanked Liu Wan for managing the household, but Liu Wan said she had not handled its affairs and refused to resume managing them.
• Xie Jin'an questioned who had decided Xie Jinzhao's marriage, and a woman outside called out that she had made the decision.

Madam Li learned that the Marquis's Residence had amassed a debt of 180,000 taels after she took control of the household, and realized that Liu Wan had been keeping its finances afloat. The accountant resigned, leaving Madam Li facing the prospect of the residence's shops, properties, and ancestral home being sold to cover the debt.

• Zhong Youyan refused to let Xie Jin'an overturn her decision about the household affairs and declared that she would no longer manage anything.
• The accountant showed Madam Li that the residence had run up a debt of 180,000 taels and that servants had gone unpaid for four months.
• The accountant explained that Liu Wan had used her own money to support the household, while the Fourth Master had diverted servants' allowances to aid the Third Master and Concubine Xu's father.
• Madam Li learned that the shops and properties might not cover the debt and that selling the ancestral residence could be necessary.
• Madam Li regretted taking control from Liu Wan, but rebuked the accountant when he defended Liu Wan's service to the family.
• The accountant presented his resignation and left, fearing he would be blamed if the authorities investigated the debt.

The Accountant left the Marquis's Residence after handing over its rotten accounts, while Liu Wan refused Xie Jin'an's pleas to manage the household again. Xia Wanwan's thoughts revealed that Xie Jin'an wanted Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token, and the token awakened her lost spatial pouch.

• The Accountant quit the Marquis's Residence and sent Liu Wan a letter of thanks through Qing Da.
• Xie Jin'an tried to coax Xia Wanwan into calling him Daddy, but she called Liu Wan Mother instead.
• Liu Wan confronted Xie Jin'an about abandoning her and Wanwan at Golden Mountain Temple and refused to manage the residence.
• After Xie Jin'an left, Xia Wanwan revealed that he wanted Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token, so Liu Wan gave the token to her.
• The token shone and entered Xia Wanwan's spiritual consciousness, where she recovered her Twenty-First Century spatial pouch and an Apple-Flavored Xizhilang Jelly that made people tell the truth.

After Xia Wanwan’s Cosmic Bag scattered treasures and she reunited with Liu Wan, the Marquis’s Residence tried to make Zhong Youyan cover a 200,000-tael jewelry-shop deficit. Zhong Youyan refused to take charge of the business without consulting her family, leaving the household’s finances unresolved.

• Xia Wanwan clung to Liu Wan after discovering her Cosmic Bag had come with her, and Liu Wan put away the dimmed Death-Exemption Token and a strange green object.
• Madam Li confessed the account-book crisis to the gravely ill Old Madam, who ordered her to summon Zhong Youyan to cover the deficit.
• Old Madam and Madam Li offered Zhong Youyan control of the household finances and the status of mistress of the residence if she settled the loss.
• Zhong Youyan said Xie Jin'an had forbidden her to interfere in household affairs, and she refused to manage Zhong Kui.
• Old Madam and Madam Li promised to let Zhong Youyan decide the third son’s affairs, but Zhong Youyan said she would consult her family before committing two hundred thousand taels.

Zhong Youyan and Xie Jinqiu settled into their new marriage, while Liu Wan heard gossip suggesting Zhong Youyan might be tormenting him behind closed doors. Madam Li and Xu Rourou then confronted Liu Wan about the household’s finances and begged her to spare Xu Rourou’s imprisoned father.

• Old Madam and Madam Li gave Zhong Youyan expensive gifts, and Zhong Youyan passed them to Little Lucky Star while hinting that she might help the Marquis’s Residence if Xie Jinqiu pleased her.
• Wang Xia told Liu Wan that servants suspected Zhong Youyan was whipping Xie Jinqiu at night, and Liu Wan worried that he might be drugging his wife as the family had once drugged her.
• Xia Wanwan overheard the gossip and insisted on accompanying Liu Wan to meet Madam Li and Xu Rourou.
• Wang Xia served Madam Li and Xu Rourou old tea with spit in it, while Xu Rourou slyly criticized Liu Wan’s spending.
• Madam Li accused Liu Wan of failing to warn her about the household deficit, but Liu Wan pointed out that Madam Li could have found it by reading the account books.
• Xu Rourou apologized to Liu Wan and begged her to spare her father, who had been imprisoned after being convicted.

Xu Rourou begged Liu Wan to use the Death-Exemption Token to save her father, but Liu Wan and Xie Jin'an refused to risk defying the law and angering the emperor. After Xu Rourou struck her head against a pillar, the household gathered in Xie Jin'an’s courtyard, where Madam Li blamed Liu Wan for the attempted suicide.

• Xu Rourou pleaded with Liu Wan to intervene in her father's poisoning case, but Liu Wan refused to interfere with the law.
• Madam Li demanded Liu Wan lend Xu Rourou the Late Emperor's Death-Exemption Token, but the servants and Xia Wanwan warned against using it.
• Xie Jin'an rebuked Madam Li and Xu Rourou for proposing to use the token, citing the danger to his standing at court.
• Xu Rourou accused the household of abandoning her and hurled herself at a pillar, injuring her forehead.
• Xie Jin'an and Madam Li carried Xu Rourou to his courtyard, where the household gathered and Madam Li blamed Liu Wan for refusing to help.

Liu Wan arrived amid the Marquis's family gathering and watched Zhong Youyan take charge of the household after securing a gradual investment from her family. When Madam Li insulted Xia Wanwan, Liu Wan finally struck back, defending her daughter and openly challenging the family.

• Xie Jinqiu revealed that Zhong Youyan's family would support the Marquis's Residence, and Madam Li handed Zhong Youyan the Matriarch's Jade Pendant and household authority.
• Zhong Youyan explained that her father would provide twenty thousand taels each month for ten months and place a Zhong Family manager in the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop.
• Madam Li praised Zhong Youyan, gave her a gold bracelet, and disparaged Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan.
• Madam Li insulted Xia Wanwan, prompting Liu Wan to slap her and defend her daughter's status.
• Liu Wan condemned Xie Huaishan as the son of a mistress and warned Madam Li not to compare him to Xia Wanwan again.

Xia Wanwan destroyed Xie Huaishan’s Sharira and caused Madam Li’s mouth to rot, while Liu Wan agreed to let Xu Rourou use the Death-Exemption Token to save her father. Liu Wan left to retrieve the token and discovered Xia Wanwan had another bead like the exploded Sharira, while the Dark Jade in the box caught the child’s attention.

• Xia Wanwan’s incantation made the Sharira around Xie Huaishan’s neck explode, leaving him unharmed but blackened by smoke.
• Madam Li’s lips developed painful, pus-filled wounds, and the Residence Physician took her away to treat her.
• Xu Rourou persuaded Xie Jin'an to ask Liu Wan for the Death-Exemption Token, and Liu Wan agreed on the condition Xu bore the consequences herself.
• Liu Wan took Xie Jin'an to her courtyard to fetch the token while Xia Wanwan gave her a transparent bead like the destroyed Sharira.
• Liu Wan carried out the box containing the Death-Exemption Token, and Xia Wanwan stared at the black Dark Jade inside it.

Zhong Youyan visited Liu Wan to discuss the Marquis's Residence's hidden financial scheme and joined forces with her to seek evidence and protect themselves. Liu Wan warned Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu was poisoning her, then watched her leave, reassured that the clever young woman could help her protect her children.

• Xia Wanwan hid Dark Jade and jelly in her cloth pouch, then drank more milk after waking hungry.
• Zhong Youyan visited Liu Wan and asked about Fourth Master's child and the nursing supplies in his courtyard.
• Liu Wan confirmed the child was Fourth Master's and explained that she had spoken up because she knew the truth.
• Zhong Youyan revealed that the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop's accounts concealed a much larger financial hole, possibly tied to an imperial-court secret, and planned to uncover it by tracking a year's new accounts.
• Liu Wan warned Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu might be weakening her with poison, and the two agreed to stay in close contact.
• That night, Liu Wan held Xia Wanwan as her daughter murmured that she loved her.

The Marquis's Residence awaited an imperial decree after the disaster-relief mission, while Xie Jin'an weighed whether to give Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token to Xu Rourou. The Crown Prince arrived with Eunuch Yu, leaving the household hopeful that Xie Jin'an would receive a promotion.

• Pan Chun hurried to dress Xia Wanwan, and Liu Wan arrived at the Front Hall with her daughter despite Madam Li's complaints.
• Madam Li praised Zhong Youyan and blamed Liu Wan for the household's troubles, while Xie Jin'an remembered Xu Rourou's demands for the Death-Exemption Token.
• Xie Jin'an realized he did not want to lose Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan, then hoped the imperial rewards would resolve the dispute and bring him a promotion.
• Xia Wanwan worried that Xie Jin'an's promotion could make him neglect Liu Wan and help Xu Rourou's father get released.
• The imperial carriages arrived, and Eunuch Yu mocked Madam Li's swollen lips before Xie Jin'an respectfully welcomed the Crown Prince.

Xia Qianlin delivered an imperial decree rewarding Xie Jin'an and his household for their disaster-relief work, but Xie Jin'an was named the Dynasty's Auspicious Mascot instead of receiving a promotion. The Crown Prince then came to escort the Marquis's Residence's supposed noble infant into the palace, and Xie Jin'an proudly presented Xie Huaishan.

• Xie Zimu moved Xia Wanwan aside, and Xia Qianlin recognized him as the talented student praised by Grand Tutor Chen.
• Eunuch Yu read the imperial decree, awarding the household gifts and naming Xie Jin'an the Dynasty's Auspicious Mascot.
• Xia Qianlin explained that Imperial Consort Dowager Ling wanted to bring the Marquis's Residence's noble infant to the palace after her legs recovered.
• Xie Jin'an and Madam Li assumed Xie Huaishan was the noble infant, while Xia Wanwan thought the Consort Dowager's legs had recovered long ago and wondered why everyone sought the male lead.
• A maid brought Xie Huaishan, and Xie Jin'an introduced him to Xia Qianlin as the noble infant identified by Master Yuantong.

Xia Wanwan’s Sharira exposed her as the true Noble Infant, and Xia Qianlin took her and Liu Wan to the palace. At Charity Hall, Xie Jin'an rescued Xu Rourou from a staged suicide, but she learned that the Marquis’s credit would not secure her father’s release.

• Xie Jin'an claimed that Xie Huaishan was the Noble Infant, but Xia Wanwan produced a transparent Sharira after the one given to Huai Shan had supposedly exploded.
• Xia Qianlin’s Sharira shone with seven-colored light when Xia Wanwan spoke, silencing objections, and he ordered Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan escorted to the palace.
• Xie Zimu left with Xie Zixing, while a maid reported that Concubine Xu had hanged herself.
• Xie Jin'an rushed to Charity Hall and helped Xu Xinbo take Xu Rourou down from the noose.
• Xie Jin'an told Xu Rourou he had sought her father’s release, but Zhong Youyan explained that the Marquis’s Residence had received credit only for toil, not achievement.

Zhong Youyan overheard Xu Rourou’s secret affair with the man she believed was her elder brother and learned from servants that the Old Madam planned to use a Death-Exemption Token to save Xu Rourou’s father. As Zhong Youyan suspected Xu Rourou’s identity was connected to an arriving Nanmei Kingdom Historian, Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing discovered that their new charcoal was different.

• Xie Jin'an left Xu Rourou to consult the Old Madam about her father, while Zhong Youyan arranged for Mama Qing to eavesdrop.
• Zhong Youyan returned to Xu Rourou’s room and overheard her intimate conversation with a man she recognized as her elder brother, including claims that Xie Huaishan was Xu Rourou’s son.
• Mama Qing’s friend reported that the Old Madam wanted to give Xu Rourou a Death-Exemption Token to save her father and mentioned an identity token and the Nanmei Kingdom Historian’s arrival.
• Zhong Youyan paid the servants for their information and suspected Xu Rourou’s identity might involve relations between two kingdoms.
• Qing Da brought Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing a hand warmer and charcoal prepared by the Eldest Madam, and Xie Zixing noticed the charcoal was different from before.

Xie Zixing showed Xie Zimu his verses and ended up crying after his brother teased him. In the palace, Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan shared a first-snow meal with the Imperial Family, where Xia Wanwan charmed everyone before recalling that the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling faced tragic endings.

• Xie Zixing showed his verses to Xie Zimu, who suggested he was better at martial arts, and Xie Zixing cried.
• Liu Wan brought Xia Wanwan to Suhui Palace and found the emperor, the Empress Dowager, Consort Ling, and Xia Siheng gathered for a family meal.
• Consort Ling explained that she had invited Liu Wan to reward Xia Wanwan for driving away an evil spirit and said Liu Wan's aunt had once dined with them as family.
• The Empress Dowager and Consort Ling bickered until the emperor tried to stop them, and both women ordered him to shut up.
• Xia Wanwan refused food in protest, but Xia Siheng teased her by eating the baby food, so the Empress Dowager fed her instead.
• Xia Wanwan happily ate in the Empress Dowager's arms, then remembered that the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling had tragic endings.

Xia Wanwan wanted to visit the Coral Tree in Splendid Palace, so Xia Qianlin crawled after her through a dog hole and got stuck. After Xia Wanwan accidentally caused the wall to collapse and the Crown Prince was rescued, he carried her beneath the Coral Tree and learned she wanted to be buried.

• Xia Siheng sent Xia Qianlin to take Xia Wanwan outside while the adults discussed choosing a consort for the First Prince.
• Xia Wanwan insisted on entering Splendid Palace before its Coral Tree was moved, and she crawled through a dog hole when Xia Qianlin went to fetch the key.
• Xia Qianlin crawled after Xia Wanwan but got stuck, and she tugged his hair while trying to pull him through.
• Xia Wanwan wished the wall would collapse, and it crumbled, burying Xia Qianlin until palace servants rescued him.
• Xia Qianlin carried Xia Wanwan beneath the Coral Tree, where she pointed to a pit and asked to be buried.

Xia Wanwan saved Xia Qianlin from Xie Huaishan’s soul, which had attacked the Crown Prince to absorb his Dragon Qi. Xie Huaishan was injured and fainted at Jing'an Marquis Manor, where no physician was available.

• Xia Qianlin buried Xia Wanwan in a pit, and Eunuch Wang found them before being sent outside to stand guard.
• Xie Huaishan absorbed spiritual energy at Jing'an Marquis Manor and sent a soul toward the Imperial Palace.
• Xie Huaishan’s soul attacked Xia Qianlin and drained his Dragon Qi, but Xia Wanwan used an Exorcism Talisman to weaken it and beat it away.
• Xia Wanwan forced the soul to return the Dragon Qi to Xia Qianlin, then wondered whether the Crown Prince might be her family.
• Xie Huaishan vomited blood and fainted, while Yinliu discovered that the Residence Physician and Concubine Xu were both away.