Recaps

Xia Siheng joined Liu Wan as she opened Consort Ling’s register of marriage candidates, which turned out to contain only his own name and birth chart. When Liu Wan said she was unworthy because she had consummated her marriage with Xie Jin'an, Xia Siheng insisted that she had not and began to explain who had actually received her first time.

• Xia Siheng followed Liu Wan to her study and insisted on helping her choose from Consort Ling’s register.
• Liu Wan discovered that every candidate in the register was Xia Siheng, and he confessed that his feelings for her were sincere.
• Liu Wan said she felt unworthy because she had been intimate with Xie Jin'an, but Xia Siheng claimed Xie Jin'an had never touched her.
• Liu Wan recalled her wedding night with Xie Jin'an and grew upset when Xia Siheng questioned whether they had consummated their marriage.
• Xia Siheng soothed Liu Wan and began telling her that the person who had received her first time was someone else.

Xia Siheng told Liu Wan that she had bled the night they were together, clearing her of the accusations surrounding her marriage to Xie Jin'an. Liu Wan admitted she had liked Xia Siheng for years but wanted him to win Wanwan’s approval before they married, while Jing Wu arrived with news about the bandit chief’s son.

• Xia Siheng told Liu Wan that she had bled when Old Madam Xie drugged her and sent her to him, and suggested Xie Jin'an could not perform.
• Liu Wan realized Xie Jin'an’s inability to perform explained why she had not bled on her wedding night or conceived, and she felt her innocence had finally been proven.
• Xia Siheng told Liu Wan he had only ever loved her, and she admitted she had liked him but wanted him to respect Wanwan’s wishes.
• Liu Wan agreed to Xia Siheng’s proposal if Wanwan accepted him, then kissed his cheek when he asked her to leave her mark on him.
• Jing Wu and Jing Er discussed reporting that they had found the son of the bandit chief who had captured Minister Liu, and Jing Wu went to Xia Siheng.
• Xia Siheng excitedly told Jing Wu that Liu Wan had kissed him and must like him.

Xia Siheng celebrated his hopes of marrying Liu Wan, while Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing discussed the family’s future and Xia Wanwan rejected the idea of having Xie Jin'an as her father. When Xie Jin'an knelt outside the Liu Residence and spread rumors about Liu Wan keeping him from his daughter, Liu Wan took Wanwan to confront him.

• Xia Siheng sent Jing Wu to clean latrines for a month, rewarded Jing Er, and left to share his good news with Liu Wan.
• Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing played with Xia Wanwan, and Xie Zimu suggested that the Ninth Prince might become their father.
• Xia Siheng advised the boys to cherish their reunion with Liu Wan and silently looked forward to returning as Xia Wanwan’s father.
• Xia Wanwan told Liu Wan she did not want a father, and Liu Wan promised not to forgive anyone her daughter disliked.
• A servant reported that Xie Jin'an was kneeling outside the Liu Residence and accusing Liu Wan of keeping him from Princess Ximing.
• Liu Wan took Xia Wanwan with her to face Xie Jin'an at the gate.

Xie Jin'an begged Liu Wan to let Xia Wanwan visit her dying great-grandmother, but Liu Wan rejected his claims that the Xie family had treated Wanwan well. Wanwan confronted Xie Jin'an and denied that he was her father, leaving him humiliated in front of the crowd.

• Xie Jin'an knelt outside Liu Wan's home and pleaded to see Xia Wanwan, drawing sympathy from some of the gathered commoners.
• Liu Wan reminded Xie Jin'an that he had driven Wanwan out and accused the Xie family of mistreating her, silencing the crowd.
• Xie Jin'an called himself Wanwan's father and urged her to return to the Xie Residence, promising to give her the best.
• Xia Wanwan asked how he could be her father now that she was a princess, then called him an unfilial son and slapped him on the head.

Xia Wanwan and Liu Wan turned Xie Jin'an’s attempt to claim his daughter against him, and the onlookers drove him away with a beating. Liu Wan retreated to the main gate with Xia Wanwan, who secretly enjoyed watching him get pummeled.

• Xia Wanwan slapped Xie Jin'an twice and cried that he and Old Madam Xie had mistreated her.
• Liu Wan comforted Xia Wanwan and appealed to the crowd not to force the frightened princess to go with her father.
• Xie Jin'an accused Liu Wan of making Xia Wanwan lie, but Liu Wan argued that the child could not fabricate such accusations.
• The onlookers condemned Xie Jin'an, and several people attacked him as others drove him away from Princess Ximing.
• Liu Wan reached the main gate under the Hidden Guards’ protection while Xia Wanwan secretly watched Xie Jin'an being beaten.

After Xie Jin'an was beaten by the crowd, he returned to the Xie Residence and learned that Old Madam might die soon. Xu Rourou tried to suffocate Old Madam, but someone burst into the room before she could confirm the death.

• Marquis Jing'an scolded Xie Jin'an for failing to handle the crowd, while Madam Li comforted her injured son.
• Madam Li told Xie Jin'an that Old Madam had lost consciousness and might not survive more than a day or two.
• Madam Li urged Xie Jin'an to stay with Xu Rourou for the sake of her birthright as the Eldest Princess's daughter, and he agreed to endure the marriage.
• Xu Rourou went to the Charity Hall, beat and tormented Old Madam, then pressed a pillow over her face to suffocate her.
• As Xu Rourou wondered whether Old Madam was dead, someone kicked open the door.

Xu Rourou was caught beside the dead Old Madam Xie and denied killing her, but Yinliu revealed that Xu Rourou had poisoned and abused the Old Madam. Madam Li found bruises and scars on the body, and she turned against Xu Rourou.

• Yinliu entered as Xu Rourou held a pillow over the Old Madam, and Madam Li and Marquis Jing'an witnessed the scene.
• Madam Li found that the Old Madam was no longer breathing, and Marquis Jing'an struck and accused Xu Rourou of killing her.
• Yinliu initially pleaded for Xu Rourou, then confessed that Xu Rourou had poisoned the Old Madam the previous night and abused her.
• Marquis Jing'an ordered the Residence Physician and the Fourth Master's wife to be summoned.
• Madam Li uncovered bruises, scars, and red welts on the Old Madam's body, then wept and stared furiously at Xu Rourou.

After the Old Madam died from poison, Marquis Jing'an blamed Xu Rourou and nearly attacked her and Madam Li before Xie Jin'an and Xu Xinbo stopped him. The family decided to make the Eldest Princess acknowledge Xu Rourou the next day, leaving Xu Rourou terrified of what would happen.

• Zhong Youyan revealed that a packet of poison was missing from the Medicine Storeroom, and the Residence Physician confirmed that the Old Madam had died from poisoning.
• Marquis Jing'an attacked Xu Rourou, struck Xie Huaishan and Madam Li, and insisted Xu Rourou must pay for the Old Madam's death.
• Xu Xinbo and Xie Jin'an intervened to restrain Marquis Jing'an and prevent him from harming Xu Rourou and Madam Li further.
• Xie Jinzhao proposed using Xu Rourou's identity to force the Eldest Princess to acknowledge her and win benefits for the Xie Residence.
• Marquis Jing'an agreed to summon the Eldest Princess the next day, while Xu Rourou feared the coming confrontation.

Zhong Youyan freed Yinliu and arranged for her to start a new life, then learned of Xie Jinqiu’s death and discovered the ledger he had left behind. When she went to intervene after Qing Sheng’s mother pushed Madam Li into a pond, Madam Li was about to have the servant beaten to death.

• Zhong Youyan gave Yinliu her Servant Contracts and a thousand taels, then arranged for her to leave and begin work under a new identity.
• Jin Yu told Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu had died, and she read his letter and found a ledger implicating the Xie Residence and a stamped Divorce Agreement.
• Zhong Youyan ordered Jin Yu to bury Xie Jinqiu beside his mother without marking their names on the gravestone.
• Qing Sheng’s mother pushed Madam Li into a pond while secretly returning from burning Young Master Zi Mu’s adoption papers.
• Madam Li ordered Qing Sheng’s mother beaten to death, but Zhong Youyan arrived and called for them to stop.

Zhong Youyan helped Qingsheng's Mother escape the Xie Residence by arranging for her to be sold to the Liu Family, while Xu Rourou and Madam Li each planned to flee with Xu Xinbo. The chapter ended with Madam Li asking Xu Xinbo to elope with her.

• Zhong Youyan pretended to be furious at Qingsheng's Mother in front of Madam Li, then explained their plan to sell her to the Liu Family so Zi Mu could reunite her with her family.
• Qingsheng's Mother revealed that she had burned the adoption documents and Young Master Zi Xing's documents before Zhong Youyan sent her away with a hidden guard.
• Xu Rourou told Xu Xinbo she wanted to escape with him and Huai Shan if Madam Li could not protect her from the Eldest Princess.
• Xu Xinbo went to Madam Li, who told him she no longer wanted to stay with Marquis Jing'an and asked him to elope with her.

Xu Xinbo, Xu Rourou, and Madam Li fled the Xie Residence together, with Madam Li revealing that she and Xu Xinbo planned to elope. The chapter ended with Marquis Jing'an discovering that Madam Li and Xu Rourou were missing and ordering a search.

• Xu Xinbo persuaded Madam Li to flee with him and Xu Rourou, and she agreed despite her doubts about Xu Rourou.
• Madam Li arranged their escape through a secret passage, and the three left in a carriage with Huai Shan.
• Madam Li told Xu Rourou to call her Eldest Sister-in-Law and proposed that Xie Jin'an call Xu Xinbo Father.
• Marquis Jing'an found Madam Li's room empty, suspected she had a lover, and ordered servants to search the residence.
• Xie Jin'an defended his mother, but an old servant woman reported that Xu Rourou was missing too.

Xia Wanwan dreamed that Xie Huaishan would flee to Southern Mei and return years later to destroy her family, so Liu Wan ordered the Xie family stopped at the city gates. Xu Rourou and her companions reached the gate, but armed strangers surrounded their carriage.

• Marquis Jing'an and Xie Jin'an both suspected their wives of adultery and ordered a search for Xu Rourou's lover.
• Xia Wanwan told Liu Wan through her thoughts that she had dreamed Xie Huaishan would escape to Southern Mei, gain power, and return for revenge.
• Liu Wan sent Hidden Guards to prevent anyone from the Xie family, especially Xie Huaishan, from leaving the Capital.
• Liu Wan comforted Xia Wanwan by claiming she had dreamed the same thing, and the two shared their love for each other.
• Xu Rourou, Xie Huaishan, and their companions tried to leave through the city gate, but an incoming horse caused their carriage to lurch and the guards to collapse.
• Xu Xinbo stepped out of the carriage and found it surrounded by armed strangers, with an icy blade at his neck.

The Eldest Princess tried to take Xu Rourou and her family to Southern Mei, but the Ninth Prince’s forces surrounded them outside the Capital. With Marquis Jing'an and Xie Jin'an arriving, Xu Rourou was left fearing that she still could not escape her fate.

• The Eldest Princess ordered her assassins to take Xu Rourou, Xu Xinbo, Madam Li, and Xie Huaishan outside the Capital so she could kill the Xu Family without causing a commotion.
• Xu Rourou entrusted Xie Huaishan to Madam Li and told Xu Xinbo to escape with them if she died.
• Jing Wu’s flaming-arrow attack disrupted the Eldest Princess’s plan, and Imperial Guards surrounded her party as they tried to retreat.
• Xia Siheng arrived, and Xu Rourou pleaded for help, claiming the Eldest Princess had murdered her birth mother and was trying to kill them.
• The Eldest Princess demanded Xu Rourou be handed over for impersonating a member of her Imperial House, but Xia Siheng told her to consider how she would explain an execution to Marquis Jing'an.
• Marquis Jing'an, Xie Jin'an, and others entered the encirclement as dawn broke, and Xu Rourou collapsed, afraid she still could not escape her fate.

Madam Li publicly admitted her affair with Xu Xinbo and exposed Marquis Jing'an's failures, provoking him to attack them before the Imperial Guards restrained him. Xie Jin'an then asked the Eldest Princess to save Xu Rourou from Marquis Jing'an.

• Marquis Jing'an tried to kill Xu Xinbo after Madam Li named him as her lover, but Xie Jin'an restrained his father and urged him to calm down.
• Madam Li described her years of abuse and her long affair with Xu Xinbo, then mocked Marquis Jing'an's impotence in front of the gathered crowd.
• Xia Siheng ordered his men to seize Marquis Jing'an and noticed Liu Wan listening from the city wall with Xia Wanwan.
• Xie Jin'an defended Madam Li and argued that Marquis Jing'an had driven her to seek affection elsewhere.
• Xie Jin'an helped Xu Rourou up and begged the Eldest Princess to save her from Marquis Jing'an.

The Eldest Princess exposed that she could not bear children, shattering Marquis Jing'an’s long-running scheme to pass Xu Rourou off as her daughter. Xu Rourou admitted she had known the truth and explained why she had hidden it, while Xie Jin'an began to pity her.

• Xie Jin'an begged the Eldest Princess to claim Xu Rourou as her daughter, but she refused and revealed she had been unable to bear children since childhood.
• Marquis Jing'an realized his decades-long plan to use Xu Rourou’s supposed royal status had collapsed, then spat blood and fell into convulsions.
• Madam Li kicked Marquis Jing'an and felt relief after years of enduring his abuse.
• Xie Jin'an confronted Xu Rourou, and she admitted she had known she was not the Eldest Princess’s daughter.
• Xu Rourou said she had hidden the truth because she feared losing the Marquis's Residence's protection and being killed by the Eldest Princess.
• The Eldest Princess reminded Xie Jin'an that Xu Rourou had betrayed him with other lovers.

The Eldest Princess exposed Xu Rourou’s affair with her brother Xu Xinbo and revealed that Xie Huaishan was not Xie Jin'an’s son. After the truth destroyed the Xie family, she offered Xie Jin'an a chance to kill Xu Rourou in exchange for a post in Southern Mei, and he raised a sword toward her.

• Xu Xinbo announced that he was Xu Rourou’s lover, shocking Xie Jin'an and the Imperial Guards.
• Xie Jin'an punched Xu Xinbo, while Marquis Jing'an mocked his son for being cuckolded like him.
• Madam Li confronted Xu Xinbo about his affair with Xu Rourou, and the Eldest Princess revealed the siblings had been close since childhood.
• Xu Xinbo implied that Xie Huaishan was his child, and Xie Jin'an collapsed in grief and regret.
• The Eldest Princess offered Xie Jin'an a sixth-rank vice minister post in Southern Mei if he killed Xu Rourou, then had her people seize Xu Rourou and Xu Xinbo.
• Xie Jin'an took the sword Marquis Jing'an handed him, approached Xu Rourou, and slowly raised it.

Xie Jin'an refused to kill Xu Rourou despite pressure from the Eldest Princess and Marquis Jing'an, choosing not to betray his conscience or the Great Xia Dynasty. The Eldest Princess challenged his claims of honor by reminding him of the suffering he had caused Liu Wan and his daughter.

• Xu Rourou begged Xie Jin'an to spare Xie Huaishan and urged her son to live an ordinary, peaceful life.
• Xie Jin'an thrust his sword toward Xu Rourou but changed direction and wounded Xu Xinbo instead.
• Xia Siheng signaled the hidden archers to lower their arrows as Xie Jin'an declared he would not kill Xu Rourou or accept a post in Southern Mei.
• Madam Li praised Xie Jin'an for protecting his conscience, while worrying about the Xie family's concealed enterprise.
• The Eldest Princess accused Xie Jin'an of hypocrisy and reminded him that his former wife and daughter had suffered because of him and the Xie family.

Xia Siheng had the Xie family and the Xu Siblings taken to the palace, while Liu Wan and their daughter returned to the Ninth Prince's Residence. At the palace hearing, two witnesses appeared and left Marquis Jing'an trembling as his past crimes came to light.

• Xia Siheng ordered everyone at the city gate escorted to the palace after the Eldest Princess accused Marquis Jing'an of sheltering the Xu Siblings and deceiving the sovereign.
• Townspeople followed the procession, jeering at Marquis Jing'an and Xie Jin'an over the scandal in their family.
• Xia Siheng reunited with Liu Wan and their sleeping daughter, took them to the Ninth Prince's Residence, and kissed Liu Wan's forehead before leaving for the palace.
• Marquis Jing'an denied the accusations at the palace hearing until two witnesses arrived: the son of a villager he had murdered and the son of the bandit chief bribed to kidnap Minister Liu.
• Marquis Jing'an collapsed to the floor and trembled in despair.

Xu Daniu and the Eldest Princess exposed Marquis Jing'an for murdering Xu Daniu’s family and shielding the Xu family, while Minister Liu and a bandit’s son revealed his kidnapping plot. The emperor learned that Jing'an’s actions had thwarted an investigation into harmful substances for twenty years and condemned him as deserving death.

• Xu Daniu accused Marquis Jing'an of killing his family and presented a piece of Jing'an’s official robe as evidence.
• The Eldest Princess identified the Xu family children, and Xu Rourou confessed that Marquis Jing'an had helped her family escape and supported them for twenty years.
• Minister Liu accused Marquis Jing'an of colluding with bandits and kidnapping him, then refused to plead for Jing'an despite his earlier kindness.
• A bandit’s son presented an engraved gold ingot and letters linking Marquis Jing'an to the kidnapping, and the emperor confirmed the letters matched Jing'an’s handwriting.
• The emperor condemned Marquis Jing'an for delaying the investigation into harmful substances from Southern Yue, which had continued to devastate the Great Xia Dynasty for twenty years.

Marquis Jing'an was stripped of his title and sentenced to execution, while Xu Rourou and Xu Xinbo languished in prison. The Eldest Princess forced poison into Xu Rourou's mouth after Xie Jin'an refused to kill her, and Xu Rourou stopped resisting when she saw her son.

• The emperor stripped Marquis Jing'an of his title, imprisoned him, and ordered his execution in three days.
• Xu Rourou tried to treat the gravely wounded Xu Xinbo, who confessed that he had let Xu Bo poison their birth mother because he believed the adults' lies.
• Xu Xinbo told Madam Li that his affection had been false, leaving her devastated.
• The Eldest Princess offered Xie Jin'an a reward to make Xu Rourou drink poison, but he refused and was slapped.
• The Eldest Princess ordered her subordinates to force Xu Rourou to drink poison, and Xu Rourou stopped struggling when she saw her son.

Xu Rourou died in prison, remembering how jealousy and repeated attempts to poison Liu Wan had turned her life toward ruin, and refused a deity’s offer to return for revenge. Xie Jian, stripped of his title and imprisoned, urgently summoned his second son over the family’s underground businesses, while Xie Jinzhao concealed his intentions.

• As she died, Xu Rourou recalled her childhood, her love for Xie Jin'an, and how envy of Liu Wan led her to replace medicine with poison and plot against her.
• A deity offered Xu Rourou a return to the mortal world in exchange for her son’s soul, but she rejected the offer because she feared living without a mother’s love.
• Xu Xinbo watched Xu Rourou die, then followed her in death, and their bodies were carried out of the jail that night.
• Xie Jian, imprisoned across from them, asked Xie Jinzhao to bring his second son back so he could disclose something important about the Xie family’s underground businesses.
• Xie Jinzhao promised to return with his second brother within three days, warned Xie Jian to keep quiet, and left the prison with a cold smile.

Xia Siheng and the emperor discussed the Happy Powder and planned to investigate the Xie family’s suspicious losses before the next dockside exchange. Back at the Ninth Prince's Residence, Xia Siheng reunited with Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan, then asked what they should do with Xie Huaishan.

• Xia Siheng told the emperor why he suspected Xie Jian had links to the Happy Powder, and the emperor decided to compensate Minister Liu’s family.
• Xia Siheng warned that the Xie family’s enormous losses made its alleged Happy Powder business suspicious, and the emperor suggested using the Purple Gold Guard to investigate.
• Xia Siheng left the Imperial Study to return to Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan, while the emperor joked with Eunuch Yu about who was more handsome.
• Xia Wanwan woke at the Ninth Prince's Residence, asked Liu Wan where they were, and looked forward to hearing fresh gossip.
• Xia Siheng returned, teased Xia Wanwan about refusing his kiss, and withheld his news until she pleaded for it.
• Xia Siheng asked Xia Wanwan what she wanted to do with Xie Huaishan.

Xia Siheng tried to arrange a marriage proposal to Liu Wan, while Liu Shi and Qin Yan went to the Xie Residence to set off firecrackers. There, Li Duoduo discovered that Zhong Youyan had divorced Xie Jinqiu and was moving her belongings out of the residence.

• Xia Wanwan asked Xia Siheng to help her blow up the Male Lead, and he agreed.
• Xia Siheng told Liu Wan about the emperor's decisions and proposed preparing betrothal gifts to visit Minister Liu, but Liu Wan asked him to discuss it with her first.
• Xia Siheng said Xie Jian would be beheaded in three days, and Liu Wan later learned that her younger brother Liu Shi had gone to the Xie Residence with Qin Yan to set off firecrackers.
• Li Duoduo arrived at the Xie Residence and found Zhong Youyan directing servants to move her belongings out.
• Zhong Youyan showed Li Duoduo a divorce agreement and declared that she had divorced Xie Jinqiu.

Zhong Youyan tricked Li Duoduo into believing Fourth Master was dead, while Jin Yu silenced the witnesses. Outside the Xie Residence, Zhong Youyan’s servants dismantled the gate she had paid for as the Liu and Xie households clashed, leaving Liu Shi cheering as the fight broke out.

• Zhong Youyan showed Li Duoduo the Divorce Agreement and claimed Fourth Master was dead, then explained to Little Lucky Star how she could conceal his death.
• Jin Yu knocked Li Duoduo, her maid, and a sparrow unconscious to keep news from spreading.
• Carpenters began dismantling the Xie Residence’s front gate, and Xie Jinzhao accused Liu Shi of stealing it.
• Little Lucky Star announced that Zhong Youyan had hired the carpenters because she had paid for the gate and was now divorced.
• Qing Sheng threw two manservants out of the residence, Little Lucky Star led her people into a fight, and Wang Xia directed the carpenters to take the gate.
• Liu Shi cheered and ordered his men to light the firecrackers.

As the crowd blamed the Xie family for the deaths and suffering caused by its drug business, Xie Jinzhao began to see his family as monstrous and regretted helping force Zhong Youyan into marriage. He learned that Zhong Youyan had submitted a Divorce Agreement and was leaving, and the chapter ended with him being asked whether to stop her.

• Xie Jinzhao endured the crowd's firecrackers and accusations that his family had profited from a harmful drug and ruined countless lives.
• After hearing grieving people recount their losses, Xie Jinzhao questioned his family’s business and kicked his grandmother’s coffin while condemning her greed and vanity.
• Xie Jinzhao realized that his family’s actions made them seem like man-eating demons and regretted helping arrange Zhong Youyan’s forced marriage.
• A servant told Xie Jinzhao that Zhong Youyan had submitted a Divorce Agreement and was moving out, then asked whether they should stop her.