Chapter Summaries

Yuanbao and Jing Wu traveled together while discussing love, and Xia Siheng cared for Liu Wan after their night together. When Zi Mu and Zi Xing offered Liu Wan tea, they asked her to give them the Liu surname so they could pursue official careers without relying on the Xia family's influence.

• Yuanbao told Jing Wu that love should not require one person to change at the other's expense, then fell asleep in the carriage beside him and the baby.
• Liu Wan woke sore after spending the night with Xia Siheng, who had canceled the tea offering so she could rest and later secretly mended her torn bellyband.
• Zi Mu and Zi Xing offered Liu Wan tea, then knelt and asked her to grant them a request.
• Liu Wan said she had already discussed their surnames with Xia Siheng, but the boys insisted they wanted the surname Liu.
• Zi Mu explained that taking Liu's surname would let them seek scholarly honors and enter official service on their own merits, without appearing to benefit from the Xia family's connections.

Liu Wan agreed to enter Zi Mu and Zi Xing into the Liu Family's Clan Genealogy and chose a courtyard for them at the Ninth Prince's Residence. When servants blocked her arrangements and Qing Sheng revealed that her family had been mistreated by people acting under Lord Ruyun's authority, Liu Wan summoned Jing Er to learn more about the residence's inner household.

• Zi Mu asked Liu Wan to grant him the surname Liu, and Zi Xing declared that he could become a hero without the Xia surname; Liu Wan agreed to enter both boys into the Liu Family's Clan Genealogy.
• Liu Wan selected a courtyard for Zi Mu and Zi Xing, but Wang Xia reported that a steward refused to assign it to them without Lord Ruyun's permission.
• Qing Sheng told Liu Wan that her parents had been locked out of their assigned courtyard, forced to sleep in the Wood Shed, and that her father was then accused of neglecting his duties.
• Liu Wan decided to investigate the inner household and sent Qing Sheng to bring Jing Er to her.
• Qing Sheng kicked open Jing Er's door while he was tending his wound, then scooped him up and carried him away despite his protests.

Liu Wan learned from Jing Er that Ruyun had served Xia Siheng’s birth mother and might have plotted against Princess Ximing, leaving Liu Wan suspicious of her motives. She prepared to help Qing Sheng search for her missing parents, then found Xia Siheng hiding something behind his back.

• Qing Sheng carried the injured Jing Er to Liu Wan, who asked him to explain Ruyun’s identity and history.
• Jing Er revealed Ruyun’s connection to Xia Siheng’s birth mother and described how the Late Emperor had spared her and placed her in the Ninth Prince’s Residence.
• Jing Er explained that Ruyun had tried to foster Xia Siheng’s resentment toward Great Xia and that he had investigated whether she tampered with Princess Ximing’s wine.
• Jing Er suspected Ruyun had provoked Princess Ximing without knowing she was Xia Siheng’s daughter, and Liu Wan connected this to her daughter’s nightmare.
• Liu Wan agreed to go with Qing Sheng to look for her parents, then returned to find Xia Siheng hiding something behind his back.

Liu Wan confronted Steward Deng for defying her authority, and Xia Siheng backed her by ordering the servant beaten again. When Ruyun heard what happened, she resolved to challenge the new princess consort.

• Xia Siheng admitted he had been secretly mending Liu Wan’s bellyband, and Liu Wan told him never to sew her undergarments again.
• Liu Wan ordered Steward Deng to wait for her return, but he invoked Lord Ruyun’s instructions and refused to obey.
• Liu Wan docked Steward Deng’s pay and ordered him given fifty slaps before leaving with Qing Sheng.
• Steward Deng complained to Xia Siheng, who ordered him to remain kneeling and told a Hidden Guard to give him another hundred slaps.
• Ruyun heard about the punishment and grew wary of Liu Wan, insisting that she alone was mistress of the Ninth Prince’s Residence.

Ruyun learned that Xia Siheng might care for Liu Wan and ordered a servant who had given wine to the little Princess to be dealt with quietly. At a clinic, Liu Wan reunited with Daoist Qianyun and asked him for a contraceptive prescription.

• Ruyun learned that Liu Wan and Princess Ximing had once stayed in Xia Siheng's Main Courtyard and worried that he cared for Liu Wan.
• Ruyun told her maid to take care of the servant who had given the little Princess wine and keep the matter quiet.
• Ruyun examined her aging face, then wrote a letter and sent it to her master.
• Liu Wan and Qing Sheng visited Qingsheng's Mother at a clinic, and Liu Wan paid for her care.
• Daoist Qianyun revealed himself to Liu Wan and explained that evil spirits from the Nanmei Li Family had forced him to remain in the Capital.
• Liu Wan told Daoist Qianyun she had come to ask for a contraceptive prescription.

Liu Wan and Xia Siheng separately decided not to have more children, fearing a second child could be exploited by East Lin and wanting to give Wanwan their undivided love. After discovering each other's plans, they embraced and both took contraceptive pills.

• Liu Wan told Daoist Qianyun that she wanted no more children and received a bottle of contraceptive pills.
• Liu Wan returned to the Prince's Manor and heard Xia Siheng asking Imperial Physician Huang for medicine to make him sterile.
• Xia Siheng explained that he wanted to protect Wanwan and spare Liu Wan the strain of another pregnancy, and Liu Wan embraced him.
• Liu Wan revealed the pills from Daoist Qianyun and admitted that she had already taken one.
• Xia Siheng swallowed one of Liu Wan's pills, telling her they were even.

Liu Wan and Xia Siheng went to fetch their daughter, but first Liu Wan confronted Ruyun and demanded that she surrender the household Jade Seal. Ruyun was intimidated into agreeing to deliver it the next day.

• Xia Siheng led Liu Wan out to fetch their daughter, while Liu Wan secretly swallowed a brown pill.
• Steward Deng begged for mercy, but Xia Siheng refused to let him rise and ordered a Hidden Guard to drag him away.
• Ruyun greeted Xia Siheng and Liu Wan, claiming her deep bond with the Prince and her long service managing the manor.
• Liu Wan pointed out Ruyun's failures and asked her to hand over the household Jade Seal.
• Xia Siheng ordered Ruyun to obey Liu Wan, and Steward Deng's beating frightened Ruyun into agreeing to deliver the Jade Seal tomorrow.

Xia Siheng told Liu Wan why he had kept Ruyun alive: she was suspected of serving Eastern Lin and was connected to his birth mother's death. He planned to use her loss of authority to draw out the spy network and avenge his mother.

• Ruyun suppressed her anger after Liu Wan took the steward's Jade Seal and reminded herself that she still had support from East Lin.
• Jing Er escorted Qing Da's family to the East Garden under Xia Siheng's orders, warning Ruyun not to mishandle the manor again.
• In the carriage, Xia Siheng told Liu Wan that an Eastern Lin spy had forced his birth mother to die after accusing her of betrayal.
• Xia Siheng revealed that Ruyun had taken three days to deliver his mother's letter and later met the spy, whose voice he recognized.
• Xia Siheng explained that his father had ordered him to watch Ruyun, expose the spies behind her, and recover his mother's keepsake; he intended to use Ruyun's loss of authority to catch them.

Liu Wan promised to stand with Xia Siheng against the threats surrounding him, while palace rivalries and political plans unfolded around Xia Wanwan. The emperor then mistook Yuanbao for his preferred candidate to protect the Crown Prince and asked her to become his consort.

• Liu Wan comforted Xia Siheng and vowed to face the dangers ahead with him.
• Xia Wanwan served Consort Ling tea while half asleep, then enjoyed her grandmother's affection and roasted pig trotters.
• The Empress Dowager brought Consort Ling osmanthus cake, and the two women argued over Xia Wanwan before sharing a meal with her.
• The emperor told the empress that Liu Wan's proposed law had passed its first jade-token vote, while the empress worried about Xia Qianlin's safety and sought an expert to protect him.
• The emperor saw Yuanbao in the Imperial Garden and asked her to become his beloved consort.

Yuanbao revealed that he was a male tomcat spirit, ending the emperor’s hopes of making him a consort and leaving the emperor mortified. After the Empress asked Yuanbao to protect Xia Qianlin from evil spirits, Yuanbao discovered that the Crown Prince had been recognized as the master of the Five Elements Spirit Pearl.

• The emperor and Empress offered Yuanbao a place in the imperial harem, but Jing Wu objected and revealed that Yuanbao was a man.
• Yuanbao let the emperor confirm his sex, horrifying the emperor and sending him sobbing into the Empress’s arms.
• Jing Wu explained that Yuanbao had been a tomcat who cultivated for a hundred years before taking human form.
• The Empress asked Yuanbao to help protect Xia Qianlin from evil spirits, and Yuanbao examined the Crown Prince.
• Yuanbao sensed the Five Elements Spirit Pearl in Xia Qianlin’s sea of consciousness and asked whether the Crown Prince was its chosen master.

Yuanbao told the Emperor and Empress that Xia Qianlin needed to cultivate magic arts to protect himself, and suggested they seek Daoist Qianyun to teach him. In the Imperial Garden, Consort Xian tried for the third time to escape the harem by jumping over a wall, but her rope snapped as she leaped.

• Yuanbao warned the Emperor and Empress that evil spirits threatened Xia Qianlin and advised sending him to cultivate magic arts.
• Yuanbao refused to teach Xia Qianlin himself and recommended Daoist Qianyun instead.
• A eunuch reported that Consort Xian had climbed a tree again, drawing the imperial family and palace consorts to the Imperial Garden.
• Xia Qianhui pleaded with Consort Xian to come down, while she insisted she would escape the harem by jumping over the wall.
• Consort Xian explained that the Empress’s peaceful harem and her own unexpected promotions had thwarted her desire to compete for favor.
• Consort Xian leaped toward the wall, but the rope secured around her snapped.

Consort Xian nearly fell from the palace wall when a rope snapped, but Yuanbao and Xia Wanwan saved her. Suspecting deliberate sabotage, she asked the emperor to investigate, while Xia Wanwan reunited with her parents at Dragon Glory Hall.

• Consort Xian's rope snapped, sending her over the wall, and Yuanbao and Xia Wanwan caught her before she hit the ground.
• Consort Xian thanked her rescuers, then knelt before the emperor and demanded an investigation into the rope.
• The emperor, empress, Empress Dowager, and Imperial Consort Dowager ordered an investigation and went to Dragon Glory Hall.
• Xia Qianhui asked about Yuanbao's relationship with Xia Wanwan, who called him her pet, while Jing Wu tried to keep Xia Qianhui from staring at him.
• Xia Wanwan reunited with Liu Wan and Xia Siheng, then refused to kiss her father after recalling that he had sent her to the palace before dawn.

The imperial family investigated repeated attempts to kill Consort Xian, but the Empress took charge of a secret inquiry after Consort Xian implicated a maid from her palace. Outside the palace, Xia Qianhui told Xia Siheng he wanted to marry Yuanbao as his Imperial Princess Consort.

• Xia Wanwan whispered gossip to Liu Wan while the emperor nervously tried to hide his embarrassment.
• Eunuch Yu found the rope had been weakened by a liquid, and guards discovered poisoned Iron Needles beneath Consort Xian’s expected landing spot.
• The Imperial Household Department found the same young eunuch had delivered both ropes, but questioning him produced no useful leads.
• Consort Xian said Xiu'er had first suggested climbing the western garden wall, so the Empress ordered the suspects detained and said she would investigate.
• The Empress Dowager backed the Empress, leaving the emperor outside the hall while the women continued the inquiry.
• Xia Qianhui caught up with Xia Siheng, Liu Wan, and Xia Wanwan at the palace gates and asked to marry Yuanbao.

Xia Qianhui tried to court Yuanbao, only to discover that Yuanbao was a man and that the Emperor had also wanted him as a consort. As Xia Siheng and Liu Wan left with Chunhua, the Emperor confronted Xia Qianhui for calling him old, and Yuanbao joked that he should be spared the beating.

• Xia Qianhui insisted that Yuanbao was perfect for him, despite Xia Siheng and Xia Wanwan trying to dissuade him.
• Yuanbao teased Xia Qianhui by revealing that he was a man, shattering the First Prince's romantic hopes.
• The Emperor arrived and confronted Xia Qianhui for calling him old, having overheard the exchange.
• The Emperor sent Chunhua to serve Liu Wan on the Empress Dowager's orders, and Xia Siheng accepted her into the Ninth Prince's Residence.
• Xia Siheng and Liu Wan departed, while Xia Qianhui was beaten and Yuanbao joked that he should not be beaten too.

The Empress told the Empress Dowager that Xiu'er had engineered the attacks on Consort Xian and framed the Empress, prompting the Empress Dowager to suspect a court faction and order an investigation. Meanwhile, Xia Siheng returned to the Ninth Prince's Residence with Liu Wan and their sleeping daughter, while Jing Wu confronted Yuanbao over being pushed aside for the First Prince.

• The Empress explained that Xiu'er had used Consort Xian and the Empress's rivalry to arrange the rope incidents and implicate the Empress.
• The Empress Dowager suspected that officials at court were interfering in the inner palace and ordered Eunuch Yu to investigate the poison, the prominent families' unmarried daughters, and Xiu'er.
• The Empress Dowager told the Empress to promise Xiu'er she would save her so Xiu'er would stay alive and reveal what she knew.
• Xia Siheng and Liu Wan returned to the Ninth Prince's Residence with their sleeping daughter, and Xia Siheng insisted they walk in together.
• Jing Wu complained to Yuanbao that Yuanbao had shoved him aside for the First Prince.

Yuanbao’s casual flirting and Liu Shi’s visit intensified Jing Wu’s jealousy. After throwing away Liu Shi’s grilled fish, Jing Wu cornered Yuanbao and began to tell him what was really bothering him.

• Yuanbao dismissed Jing Wu’s jealousy and said he flirted with handsome men because he could not help himself.
• Liu Shi brought grilled fish for Yuanbao, but Jing Wu snatched it and ate it while claiming it was for both of them.
• Yuanbao promised Liu Shi he would visit the Minister’s Residence for grilled fish when the princess consort visited her family.
• Jing Wu threw Liu Shi’s fish into the pond and said he would grill fish for Yuanbao from then on.
• When Yuanbao asked why Jing Wu was angry, Jing Wu pinned him against a wall and said he would explain.

Yuanbao escaped Jing Wu’s attempted kiss, then discovered Jing Wu was having an allergic reaction and cared for him. The next day, Chunhua punished Ruyun for disrespecting Liu Wan, and Ruyun appealed to Xia Siheng.

• Jing Wu confronted Yuanbao about flirting with other men and leaned in to kiss him, but Yuanbao teleported away.
• Jing Wu collapsed from a fish allergy, and Yuanbao carried him to bed and went to find help.
• Ruyun brought the steward’s Jade Seal and documents to Liu Wan, then challenged Wang Xia’s insistence that she be announced.
• Chunhua identified herself as the Empress Dowager’s representative and ordered Ruyun seized and struck for disrespecting Liu Wan.
• Xia Wanwan and Xia Siheng encountered the injured Ruyun, who knelt before Xia Siheng and identified herself.

Xia Wanwan revealed that Ruyun’s poison had rebounded on her, while Xia Siheng confined Ruyun under the pretext of protecting her from the Empress Dowager’s attendant. After uncovering Ruyun’s ties to East Lin spies, Jing Er was startled awake by Jing Wu, who confessed that he thought he liked men.

• Xia Wanwan reassured Xia Siheng that Liu Wan’s hands had not hurt Ruyun, and Xia Siheng ordered Ruyun confined for offending Aunt Chunhua.
• Xia Wanwan told Liu Wan that Ruyun had drugged her wine on Xia Siheng and Liu Wan’s wedding day, and revealed that her double rebound had made Ruyun suffer twice as long.
• Jing Er reported that he had caught the servant Ruyun tried to silence and traced her communications with East Lin spies.
• Jing Wu woke Jing Er in the middle of the night and said he thought he liked men, prompting Jing Er to flee across the bed and warn him off.

Jing Wu realized he had fallen in love with Yuanbao and took Jing Er’s advice to quietly stay by his side, deciding to catch fish for him. Meanwhile, Daoist Qianyun discovered that Ruyun’s nightmares and worsening appearance were the result of a curse rebounding on her.

• Jing Wu told Jing Er how his jealousy and longing for Yuanbao had made him realize he loved him.
• Jing Er reassured Jing Wu that his feelings were genuine and advised him to protect Yuanbao and remain by his side without demanding a relationship.
• Jing Wu decided to catch fish and leaped out through Jing Er’s window, prompting Jing Er to board it up.
• Ruyun asked Daoist Qianyun to treat her injured face and explain her gray hairs and recurring nightmares.
• Daoist Qianyun examined Ruyun and realized that the curse she had provoked had rebounded on her twice at double strength.

Daoist Qianyun took twenty thousand taels from Ruyun to treat her face and nightmares, then warned Xia Siheng that East Lin’s spy was connected to the Demon God Jiyan. Xia Wanwan realized the Demon God might target her Grandmaster’s consecration ceremony and urged her father to catch the spies that night.

• Ruyun paid Daoist Qianyun twenty thousand taels for medicine and a talisman to stop her nightmares.
• Daoist Qianyun teleported to the Prince’s Manor and told Xia Siheng that Ruyun was an East Lin spy who had killed his birth mother.
• Daoist Qianyun revealed that Ruyun carried Jiyan’s baleful aura and explained that five Chosen Ones could eventually suppress the Demon God.
• Daoist Qianyun identified Li Shuqi and Xia Qianlin as two Chosen Ones and left to take them into his care.
• Xia Wanwan connected Jiyan’s plans to her Grandmaster’s consecration ceremony and asked Xia Siheng to help her catch the spies that night.