Chapter Summaries

Xie Jinqian returned to the Xie family and persuaded Xie Jinzhao to carry out their final illicit deal, while Xia Siheng’s men watched a shipment handover at a dock. The chapter ended with Jin Yu opening the chest after Zhong Youyan talked the suspicious seller into allowing an inspection.

• Xie Jinzhao told Xie Jinqian about the accusations and begged him to return and help, and Xie Jinqian reminded him of their promise and urged him to focus on freeing their imprisoned father.
• Xie Jinqian told Xie Jinzhao that one final shipment would solve their money and reputation problems, and promised to stop after the deal.
• Xie Jinqian poured wine as an offering to heaven and earth for their deceased Fourth Brother.
• Xia Siheng and Jing Wu hid near the dock and watched Zhong Youyan arrive to receive the shipment, prompting Xia Siheng to fear the Zhong Family might be involved.
• Zhong Youyan gave the countersign, presented Xie Jinqiu’s ledger, and passed Brother Sha’s test of her identity.
• Jin Yu challenged Brother Sha’s sample, and Zhong Youyan convinced him to let them inspect the shipment before Jin Yu opened the chest.

Zhong Youyan, Xia Siheng, and their allies intercepted Brother Sha and Saiban’s shipment of stolen goods, while Xia Siheng was poisoned and wounded in the fight. He returned to the Liu Residence, where Liu Wan treated him and learned he had risked himself to protect Great Xia; the chapter ended with them holding hands as Wang Xia and Qing Sheng watched.

• Saiban led his men into battle against Zhong Youyan and told Brother Sha to escape, while Xia Siheng sent Jing Wu to support Zhong Youyan and searched the shadows with Jing Er.
• Jing Wu and Zhong Youyan stopped Brother Sha from fleeing by boat, while Xia Siheng fought a hidden enemy who poisoned and wounded him before escaping into the forest.
• Xia Siheng ordered his Hidden Guard to have the Government Office send troops, then returned to the Capital with a bleeding wound.
• Liu Wan found Xia Siheng in the Liu Residence courtyard and treated his wound while sending for an imperial physician.
• Xia Siheng reassured Liu Wan that he had gone to protect the people, and they held hands as Wang Xia and Qing Sheng watched.

Liu Wan stayed beside the injured Xia Siheng until dawn, while their maids teased her about their growing closeness. Meanwhile, Lord Qin searched the Xie Residence for a fugitive but found nothing, and Xie Jinqian remained confident that the authorities could not implicate him.

• Liu Wan cared for Xia Siheng through the night as Imperial Physician Huang arrived to examine him.
• Wang Xia and Qing Sheng teased Liu Wan about her affection for Xia Siheng, and she chased them around the courtyard.
• Lord Qin led soldiers into the Xie Residence to search for the escaped fugitive, suspecting the family was involved.
• Xie Jinqian explained that he had spent the evening arranging his grandmother's funeral and had remained in the company of relatives.
• The soldiers found nothing, so Lord Qin withdrew, and Xie Jinqian told Xie Jinzhao that he had not attended the night's affair.

Xie Jinqian arranged a plan to rescue his father while hiding his involvement in the vanished shipment. At the palace, Xia Wanwan offered to question the dead criminals’ ghosts, and the emperor realized that his Ninth Imperial Younger Brother had kissed her; the Empress Dowager then beat the emperor when he refused to punish the culprit.

• Xie Jinqian told Xie Jinzhao that they needed to frame Madam Li and Xie Jin'an as heirs before carrying out Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.
• The emperor learned that the imprisoned criminals had died, and Xia Wanwan agreed to question their ghosts at night.
• The emperor told the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling that a boy had kissed Wanwan, prompting them to demand that the culprit's nine generations be exterminated.
• A guard reported that the Ninth Prince was recovering and wanted Wanwan to stay in the palace while Lady Liu Wan cared for him.
• Wanwan's thoughts revealed that Uncle Xia had kissed her and was trying to arrange time alone with her mother, so the emperor realized his Ninth Imperial Younger Brother was the culprit.
• The Empress Dowager beat the emperor after he insisted they could not exterminate the culprit's nine generations.

Liu Wan tended Xia Siheng’s wound and fed him medicine while he flirted with her. At the Xie Residence, the Eldest Princess sent a funeral chest that revealed the corpse of Madam Li’s grandson, leaving her with another grave to visit.

• Imperial Physician Huang instructed Liu Wan to redress Xia Siheng’s wound and give him the antidote decoction, then withdrew after Xia Siheng silenced him with a murderous look.
• Liu Wan changed Xia Siheng’s dressing and fed him medicine while he teased her and watched her closely.
• A Shu delivered a wooden chest to the Xie Residence on behalf of the Eldest Princess, who sent funeral supplies in condolence for Old Madam Xie.
• Madam Li and Xie Jin'an returned, and Xie Jinzhao criticized them for arriving late; Xie Jinqian and an elderly relative tried to calm the family dispute.
• Madam Li ordered Xie Jinzhao to open the chest, and he recoiled in terror when he saw the corpse of Xie Huaishan inside.
• Madam Li nearly fainted at the sight and realized she would have five graves to visit every Tomb-Sweeping Festival.

Xie Jinzhao confronted Xie Jin'an over abandoning the family and revealed that Xu Rourou had been involved with his younger brothers. Xie Jin'an attacked Xie Jinzhao and Xie Jinqian, then disowned Xie Jinzhao.

• Xie Jinzhao accused Xie Jin'an of shirking responsibility for the Xie family's disgrace while he handled the funeral and endured the family's hardships.
• Xie Jinzhao revealed that Xu Rourou had been involved with all of them, including Xie Jin'an's younger brothers, and mocked him for believing Xie Huaishan was his son.
• Xie Jin'an struck Xie Jinzhao on the head with an incense burner, leaving him bleeding, and Xie Jinqian defended their brother.
• Xie Jin'an attacked Xie Jinqian and shouted that the brothers deserved to die before relatives restrained him.
• Xie Jinzhao told Xie Jin'an he no longer wanted to be his brother, and Xie Jin'an ordered him out of the Xie family.

Xie Jinzhao and Xie Jinqian severed ties with the Xie family and left after surrendering its businesses and Family Seal. Xie Jin'an began a new Clan Genealogy with himself as its founding ancestor, while Madam Li planned for him to rebuild the family.

• Xie Jin'an expelled Xie Jinzhao, who cut his mourning robe, formally severed ties, and kowtowed before Old Madam's coffin.
• Xie Jinzhao urged Xie Jinqian to leave with him, but Xie Jinqian first demanded half the family property to stay and rebuild the Xie family.
• After Xie Jin'an refused, Xie Jinqian severed his kinship and joined Xie Jinzhao in leaving.
• Madam Li demanded the businesses Xie Jinqian controlled, and Xie Jinqian handed her the Family Seal before the two brothers departed.
• Xie Jin'an started a new Clan Genealogy in the Ancestral Hall, and Madam Li promised to help him rebuild the family and continue its line.

Xie Jinqian showed Xie Jinzhao the fortune he had secretly siphoned from the Xie family and advised him to treat Li Duoduo well. Meanwhile, Xia Wanwan helped the emperor question cursed ghosts, who could see her despite her magical bib.

• Xie Jinqian revealed that he had hidden the money taken from the Xie family's underground businesses and said the Imperial Court's investigation would leave the family to bear the crimes.
• Xie Jinqian urged Xie Jinzhao to abandon his wastrel ways and honor Li Duoduo, and Xie Jinzhao promised to bring her to the new residence.
• Xie Jinzhao asked whether Xie Jinqian would marry, and Xie Jinqian said the woman he wanted had been married to someone else.
• The emperor secretly asked Xia Wanwan to help question the ghosts, while Eunuch Yu gathered spiritual masters and their rabbit, Extremely, as support.
• Xia Wanwan broke the curses on the corpses, revealing the ghosts, who shrieked at the sight of her floating head.
• Xia Wanwan wondered why the ghosts could see her even though her black bib was securely tied around her neck.

The emperor questioned Saiban and uncovered the Xie family’s role in the Happy Powder trade, then ordered raids and surveillance while seeking proof against Xie Jinqian. Meanwhile, Xie Jinqian and Xie Jinzhao rescued their father, Xie Jian, and revealed they intended to kill him rather than let him flee to Southern Yue.

• Xia Wanwan helped the emperor question Saiban, who identified Madam Li’s husband as the business’s founder and the second grandson of Old Madam Xie as its current operator.
• The emperor learned the trade used Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop to launder money and relied on channels linked to Southern Yue, gambling houses, and families across Great Xia.
• The emperor ordered Qian Zhibing to raid trafficking dens that night and commanded the arrest and interrogation of people connected to the Xie family the next morning.
• After hearing that Xie Jian was being rescued from Jail, the emperor sent Hidden Guards and Master Yuantong’s group to follow the Masked Sorcerer without alerting him.
• The Masked Sorcerer replaced Xie Jian with a Puppet and took him to a secluded estate, where Xie Jinqian and Xie Jinzhao welcomed him.
• Xie Jian said he planned to flee to Southern Yue, but Xie Jinqian revealed he would send him there dead and told Xie Jinzhao to act.

Xie Jinzhao and Xie Jinqian beat Xie Jian to death, and Xie Jinqian surrendered to the watching monks. Madam Li tried to sell the Xie family’s businesses, but the buyer exposed suspicious accounts before government soldiers arrested her.

• Xie Jinzhao beat Xie Jian while condemning his lifelong abuse and betrayal, and Xie Jinqian’s thumb ring glowed as Xie Jian suffered.
• Xie Jian realized his sons meant to kill him and died from his injuries as the monks outside invoked the Buddha’s name.
• Xie Jinqian admitted he had arranged Xie Jian’s escape from prison and asked the monks to take him to face judgment.
• Madam Li brought the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop’s accounts and documents to sell its businesses to a buyer behind a screen.
• The buyer accused Madam Li of presenting falsified accounts, and she revealed the Xie family had dealt in medicinal powder and cultivated ties with Southern Yue.
• Government soldiers burst in and surrounded Madam Li as the middle-aged buyer stepped out from behind the screen.

Madam Li was arrested after confessing to the Happy Powder trade, then accused Xie Jinqian of framing her when she learned he was the Second Imperial Prince of Southern Yue. In the Imperial Study, the emperor explained Xie Jinqian’s crimes and the intelligence he had offered in exchange for leniency, leaving Xia Siheng asking how Xie had gained his royal identity.

• Minister Qian arrested Madam Li after she confessed to selling the goods, and she blamed Xie Jinqian for the trade and the missing money.
• Madam Li saw Xie Jinqian leaving the palace in a Palankeen and was told by Xie Jinzhao that he was the Second Imperial Prince of Southern Yue.
• Madam Li denounced Xie Jinqian outside the Imperial Study and collapsed after spitting blood beside her husband Xie Jian’s corpse.
• The emperor told Xia Siheng that Xie Jinqian had confessed to running the powder trade in Southern Yue and submitted account books and addresses of Great Xia dens.
• Xia Siheng feared Xie Jinqian’s influence and asked the emperor how he had come to be Southern Yue’s Second Imperial Prince.

The emperor told Xia Siheng that Xie Jinqian was the Southern Yue King’s son, and Xia Siheng warned that his motives could threaten Great Xia. After making peace with the emperor, Xia Siheng returned to Liu Wan while Xie Jinqian and Xie Jinzhao went to visit Xie Jinqiu’s birth mother’s grave, only to find it missing.

• The emperor explained that Consort Su had fled Southern Yue while pregnant, making Xie Jinqian the Southern Yue King’s son and an Imperial House heir.
• Xia Siheng warned the emperor that Xie Jinqian could be pursuing his own ambitions, so the emperor agreed to watch him.
• The emperor sulked after Xia Siheng criticized him, then cheered up when Xia Siheng praised his looks and told Xia Siheng to return to Liu Wan.
• Xie Jinqian told Xie Jinzhao that he had fulfilled their agreement by establishing their household and killing Xie Jian, but still had an unfulfilled wish.
• Xie Jinqian and Xie Jinzhao arrived to visit Xie Jinqiu’s birth mother’s grave and found that it was gone.

Xie Jinqian stopped Xie Jinzhao from seeking revenge on Zhong Youyan and urged him to ask her forgiveness instead. At the Zhong residence, Zhong Youyan defended her actions against illicit goods to her family, but the Xie family’s Third Master arrived just as she prepared to face the Clan Elders.

• Xie Jinzhao set out to confront Zhong Youyan, but Xie Jinqian stopped him and explained that their Fourth Brother had chosen reincarnation and said Zhong Youyan had helped him.
• Xie Jinqian urged Xie Jinzhao to seek Zhong Youyan’s forgiveness and make peace with the Zhong Family; Xie Jinzhao agreed to go alone.
• Zhong Father punished Zhong Youyan for interfering with illicit underground goods, while Zhong Mother pleaded with her to admit fault.
• Zhong Youyan argued that the Zhong Family had a duty to protect the people and Great Xia rather than profit from a substance that harmed them.
• Zhong Father lowered the Disciplinary Ruler, but Zhong Youyan went to explain herself to the Clan Elders as a servant announced that Xie Jinzhao had arrived.

Zhong Youyan defied the clan elders’ demand that she return to the Xie family as a widow and exposed the clan leader’s role in arranging her marriage and ruining her reputation. As evidence emerged, the clan leader collapsed in a seizure.

• Zhong Youyan rejected the clan elders’ demand that she return to the Xie family and challenged the clan leader’s double standards.
• Zhong Youyan accused the clan leader of conspiring with Old Madam Xie and revealed their alleged affair and his scheme to marry her into the Xie family.
• Zhong Youyan said the clan leader had targeted her after her older sister eloped and had pressured her parents into the marriage for the Zhong Family’s advancement.
• Hidden Guard Jin Yu revealed that the clan leader’s nephew had disabled him on the day Zhong Youyan’s reputation was ruined, preventing him from saving her.
• Zhong Youyan said Mama Qing and the clan leader’s divorced wife were ready to testify, and the clan leader collapsed in a seizure.
• Zhong Father ordered the clan members to carry the clan leader out of his house.

Zhong Youyan received the title of Commandery Princess Jade Glass after helping the court intercept the medicinal powder, while the Xie family was punished for making it. Xie Jin'an was spared execution but beaten by an angry crowd, and the chapter ended as he saw his daughter emerge with another man at her side.

• Xie Jinzhao begged Zhong Youyan for forgiveness, and she refused to forgive him but told him where Xie Jinqiu was buried.
• An Imperial Edict rewarded Zhong Youyan with gold, silver, and the title of Commandery Princess Jade Glass.
• Zhong Fu rejected the Zhong clan's genealogy, ordered the Clan Leader thrown out, and invited willing relatives to join his household's new genealogy.
• Government Soldiers confiscated the Xie family's property, exiled those who knew of the harmful powder, and left Xie Jin'an alive because the Second Imperial Prince of Southern Yue had pleaded for him.
• Commoners beat Xie Jin'an as he crawled to the Liu Residence, where he saw his daughter emerge beside a man holding her hand.

Xia Siheng prepared to send betrothal gifts to Liu Wan, but realized he still needed Wanwan to accept him as her new father. Their plans were interrupted when a disgraced Xie Jin'an begged Liu Wan to let him see Wanwan, and Xia Siheng declared that he and Liu Wan were in love.

• Liu Wan urged Xia Siheng to rest his injured arm, and he admitted he had forgotten to ask Wanwan to accept him as her new father.
• Qing Da told Liu Wan that Xie Jin'an's household had been raided for running an underground business and that a crowd was beating him.
• Xie Jin'an confessed that Xu Rourou had deceived him and begged Liu Wan to let him see Wanwan, his only surviving family.
• Xia Siheng challenged Xie Jin'an's claim to Wanwan and explained that Liu Wan had never been unfaithful to him.
• Xia Siheng said he and Liu Wan were in love, while Xie Jin'an mocked their relationship and pleaded with Liu Wan to return to him.

Xia Siheng revealed to Xie Jin'an that he was Princess Ximing’s biological father, while Liu Wan won the crowd’s support for her marriage to the Ninth Prince. At the palace gates, Consort Ling took Xia Qianhui’s offer to act as Wanwan’s new father, following the prince’s strange request.

• Xia Siheng told Xie Jin'an that he had fathered Wanwan and silenced him when he tried to reveal the secret.
• Liu Wan announced that Princess Ximing now bore the Xia surname, offered the crowd celebration money, and asked them to defend her and her daughter from Xie Jin'an’s slander.
• The commoners condemned Xie Jin'an and pledged to protect Liu Wan and Princess Ximing, while he left clutching the clan genealogy.
• Jing Wu told Consort Ling that the prince wanted her to find Princess Ximing a new father, and Jing Er scolded him for saying it.
• Consort Ling asked Wanwan if she wanted a new father, and Xia Qianhui told her that he was her father.

Xia Qianhui persuaded Xia Wanwan to accept him as her new daddy by promising her roast pig’s trotters, then accompanied her to the Minister’s Residence. Minister Liu mistook the betrothal gifts there as a match for Liu Shi, but the arrival of Consort Ling, the Ninth Prince, and Liu Wan suggested that Liu Wan was the one getting married again.

• Xia Wanwan rejected Xia Qianhui’s offer to be her daddy until Consort Ling promised that the Imperial Kitchen would make her favorite roast pig’s trotters.
• Xia Wanwan accepted Xia Qianhui as her daddy, and Jing Er worried that the arrangement would cause trouble for Latrine Brother.
• Xia Wanwan reunited with Liu Wan at the Minister’s Residence, while Xia Siheng delayed Liu Wan’s questions about what had happened.
• Minister Liu celebrated the confiscation of the Xie Residence and assumed the betrothal gifts meant Liu Shi was marrying into the Imperial Family.
• Liu Shi denied that he was the one getting married, and he teased Minister Liu when Consort Ling, the Ninth Prince, and Liu Wan arrived.

Consort Ling arrived at the Liu residence to arrange Liu Wan’s marriage to the Ninth Prince, while Minister Liu felt hurt that his family had kept the match from him. Xia Wanwan went to comfort her grandfather, who eagerly fetched firecrackers, and Xia Siheng decided to tell her he was her daddy.

• Lady Liu gave Consort Ling Liu Wan’s Birth-Date Card and said it matched the Ninth Prince’s card.
• Minister Liu realized his family had kept him in the dark, then left to prepare tea while Liu Shi followed him.
• Lady Liu explained that Minister Liu had wanted to celebrate the confiscation of the Xie Residence with firecrackers, and the family discussed the wedding arrangements.
• Liu Wan sent Pan Chun to take Xia Wanwan to comfort Minister Liu, but Xia Siheng intercepted them and carried the child to him.
• Minister Liu invited Xia Wanwan to play with firecrackers and went to fetch some; Xia Siheng then told her, “I’m your daddy!”

Xia Siheng told Xia Wanwan he was her real father, beat Xia Qianhui and Jing Wu after learning they had claimed to be her father, and persuaded her to accept him. He took her to Minister Liu’s residence, where she found a lighter beside a courtyard full of firecrackers.

• Xia Siheng told Xia Wanwan he was her real father, but she said she had already made someone else her daddy.
• Xia Qianhui admitted he had told Xia Wanwan to call him daddy, so Xia Siheng beat him and then beat Jing Wu, ordering both to clean the latrines.
• Xia Siheng picked up Xia Wanwan and insisted that she call him daddy, promising to get her roast pig’s trotters.
• Xia Siheng took Xia Wanwan to Minister Liu to ask for firecrackers, and Minister Liu suggested setting them off to celebrate the happy news.
• Xia Wanwan found a lighter in her Cosmic Bag and headed toward the firecrackers, prompting Minister Liu to shout for her not to light them.