Chapter Summaries

The Empress Dowager and Xia Siheng argued over whether Noble Lady Snow had planted a gu in the emperor, while Master Yuantong searched for a way to identify the caster. Xia Wanwan proposed using a spirit needle to make the caster suffer through their linked Gu Worms, and Imperial Physician Huang was left holding the needle.

• The emperor defended Noble Lady Snow, insisting there was no evidence she had afflicted him with gu, while the Empress Dowager demanded her execution.
• Master Yuantong said he needed at least three days to search the Scripture Repository for records about the caster’s backlash, so the Empress Dowager ordered a one-day search.
• Noble Lady Snow privately thought she could escape after meeting her contact that day, before Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan arrived at Dragon Glory Hall.
• Xia Wanwan explained that pricking the Gu Worm in the emperor’s heart would hurt the caster even more because the two worms were linked.
• Master Yuantong confirmed the needle’s spiritual energy would benefit the emperor, and Xia Wanwan handed it to Imperial Physician Huang to use.

Xia Wanwan used the Spirit Needle to seal the Divine Gu in the emperor, causing Noble Lady Snow to suffer its backlash. She and Xia Siheng realized Noble Lady Snow was the Male Gu, leaving the court to face the task of killing it before the emperor’s Female Gu could be removed.

• Xia Wanwan persuaded the Empress Dowager to help hold down the emperor and used her stethoscope to locate the Gu Worm before stabbing it with the Spirit Needle.
• The emperor screamed as blood and green pus sprayed from his wound, while Noble Lady Snow collapsed in pain from the linked Gu Worms’ backlash.
• Xia Qianxian charged at Xia Wanwan, but Xia Siheng stopped him and flung him into a corner.
• Xia Wanwan turned the Spirit Needle into spiritual mist and sealed the Female Gu in the emperor’s heart, healing his wound but leaving the worm inside.
• Xia Siheng explained that the Male Gu had to be killed before the Female Gu could be removed, and Xia Wanwan identified Noble Lady Snow as the Male Gu.

Xia Wanwan exposed Noble Lady Snow as a male gu worm who had impersonated Xue'er and planted gu in the emperor. As Noble Lady Snow attacked, a mysterious newcomer arrived and severed her hand with the Returning Blade.

• Master Yuantong identified Noble Lady Snow as a sentient male gu worm, and the emperor learned that she had impersonated Xue'er and planted gu in him.
• Noble Lady Snow revealed that her gu family had found Xue'er through the jade pendant the emperor gave her, then blamed him for Xue'er's suffering.
• Xia Wanwan slapped Noble Lady Snow and refused to undo the seal on the emperor's heart.
• Noble Lady Snow broke free of the seal, struck Master Yuantong down, and lunged at Xia Wanwan.
• The Returning Blade cut off Noble Lady Snow's hand, and everyone saw a mysterious newcomer standing nearby.

Yuanbao fought Noble Lady Snow after she unleashed the Red Ghost Demonic Arts, but Xia Wanwan stopped her attack and brought her down. Xia Wanwan revealed that reinforcements had arrived, leaving the reason behind Noble Lady Snow’s attack to be uncovered.

• Yuanbao caught the Returning Blade and challenged Noble Lady Snow, who joined with Xia Qianxian after he transformed into a bladed arm.
• Yuanbao lured Noble Lady Snow into the Front Courtyard, where she unleashed the Red Ghost Demonic Arts and knocked him down.
• Xia Wanwan caught Noble Lady Snow’s blade with her bare hands, then hurled it back and pierced Noble Lady Snow through the heart.
• Xia Siheng stopped Xia Wanwan from killing Noble Lady Snow so they could question her about the attack on the emperor.
• Xia Wanwan divined that Noble Lady Snow had acted because reinforcements had arrived that day.

Xia Wanwan roasted the captured gu worms for Yuanbao and revealed that she was avoiding extracting the worm inside the emperor so sorcerers would not track her. At Falling Snow Hall, the Empress Dowager and Xia Siheng investigated Noble Lady Snow’s suspicious absence and confronted the palace maids guarding the entrance.

• The emperor ordered the two captured worms killed, and Xia Wanwan roasted them over a fire for Yuanbao, explaining that eating the spiritual gu could improve his cultivation.
• Yuanbao ate the worms as Xia Wanwan recounted how she had once roasted a pig farmer’s piglets and narrowly avoided punishment.
• Xia Wanwan admitted she would wait for the Daoist Healer to remove the worm from the emperor because she did not want sorcerers to trace its death back to her.
• The Empress Dowager and Xia Siheng reached Falling Snow Hall, and Xia Siheng recognized a senior palace maid who had previously reported Noble Lady Snow’s suicide threat.
• The Empress Dowager ordered Xia Siheng to hide, then demanded to see Noble Lady Snow, while Nanny Wei challenged the palace maids over Noble Lady Snow’s unexplained absence.

The Empress Dowager came to Falling Snow Hall to confront Noble Lady Snow, but Chunhua revealed that her mistress was absent and asked a mysterious woman for help. The woman emerged looking exactly like Noble Lady Snow and went to face the Empress Dowager, leaving Xia Siheng convinced she was behind the Gu Worm plot.

• The Empress Dowager ordered the doors of Falling Snow Hall opened after Nanny Wei accused Noble Lady Snow of making her wait.
• Chunhua told the mysterious woman behind the screen that Noble Lady Snow had been summoned away and had not returned.
• The mysterious woman concluded that the Empress Dowager likely knew Noble Lady Snow was with the emperor, whose Gu Worm had flared up.
• The mysterious woman emerged looking like Noble Lady Snow and told Chunhua to go see the Empress Dowager.
• Xia Siheng followed them and suspected Chunhua had deliberately steered the mysterious woman into confronting the Empress Dowager.
• The Empress Dowager saw the woman enter and was shocked that she looked exactly like Noble Lady Snow.

Noble Lady Snow, an impostor sent to replace the vanished divine gu, tried to appease the Empress Dowager after being accused of disobedience. Nanny Wei punished her by pricking beneath all ten fingernails, while Chunhua’s hints left the Empress Dowager aware of the Eleventh Imperial Prince’s absence.

• The Empress Dowager accused Noble Lady Snow of disobeying her orders and threw tea at her.
• Noble Lady Snow claimed she had fainted and Chunhua had helped her return, while Chunhua added that the Eleventh Imperial Prince, Xia Qianxian, had helped too.
• The Empress Dowager decided to punish Noble Lady Snow, and Nanny Wei suggested driving needles beneath her fingernails.
• Nanny Wei pricked Noble Lady Snow beneath all ten fingernails as she screamed in pain.
• Nanny Wei claimed Noble Lady Snow had sent the Eleventh Imperial Prince to attend the emperor, and Chunhua realized the Empress Dowager had understood her hint.

Chunhua exposed the false Noble Lady Snow to the Empress Dowager, who planned to trap the impostor and her allies. The false Noble Lady Snow remained focused on finding the divine Gu and entered Dragon Glory Hall after being told the emperor wanted to see her.

• The Empress Dowager ordered Chunhua punished, and Chunhua stayed behind to reveal that the woman posing as Noble Lady Snow was an impostor.
• The Empress Dowager summoned Xia Siheng to arrange a trap, then asked Chunhua to act as part of her plan.
• The false Noble Lady Snow returned and followed the Empress Dowager toward Dragon Glory Hall, still unable to sense the divine Gu.
• Chunhua falsely claimed that the real Noble Lady Snow had instructed her to tell the impostor that the grand plan was nearly complete.
• Nanny Wei summoned the false Noble Lady Snow into Dragon Glory Hall, saying the emperor wanted to see her.

Noble Lady Snow entered Dragon Glory Hall, believing her divine gu had brought her close to completing her plan, while the Empress Dowager and her allies used her to expose the scheme. She persuaded the emperor to promise anything she asked, then requested that he give Qingli City to the Nanmei Kingdom.

• Chunhua revealed that she had followed the Empress Dowager’s instructions to steer Noble Lady Snow toward her plan and expose its purpose to those inside Dragon Glory Hall.
• Noble Lady Snow entered the Imperial Bedchamber, where the emperor pretended to be lovesick and the Empress Dowager left them alone.
• Noble Lady Snow took the emperor’s hand, and he clung to her while insisting he would give her anything she wanted.
• Noble Lady Snow recounted her ties to Qingli City and asked the emperor to give the city to the Nanmei Kingdom.

The emperor let Li Siqin expose her identity and threaten him into drafting a document ceding cities, while he coaxed information about her family and Southern Mei from her. When Li Siqin took him behind a screen to retrieve his seal, she encountered three hidden spectators, and a toddler cast an Immobilization Spell.

• The emperor tore off Noble Lady Snow's human-skin mask, revealing Li Siqin, who threatened him with a dagger and ordered him to write a document ceding cities.
• Li Siqin forced the emperor to prepare ink, and he drew out that she belonged to Southern Mei's Li Family of magic arts practitioners.
• The emperor wrote the document, and Li Siqin checked it before demanding he stamp it with the imperial seal.
• The emperor claimed his private seal was hidden behind a folding screen and led Li Siqin there at dagger point.
• Li Siqin came face to face with three hidden spectators, and a toddler shouted an Immobilization Spell.

Li Siqin’s attempt to seize the emperor was exposed, and she broke free of Xia Wanwan’s Immobilization Spell to take the court hostage. The emperor destroyed the document she demanded, leaving the standoff unresolved.

• Xia Wanwan immobilized Li Siqin and released the emperor, while Xia Siheng summoned the guards.
• The Empress Dowager, the Empress, Liu Wan, and others entered, revealing that they had witnessed Li Siqin’s scheme.
• The emperor identified Li Siqin as the Li Family’s Saintess, and Chunhua denied betraying her because Li Siqin was not her mistress.
• Li Siqin broke free of the spell, lifted the court members into the air, and sent a guard crashing into a wall.
• Li Siqin threatened the Empress Dowager and demanded the emperor’s sealed document, but the emperor tore it to shreds.

Yuanbao defeated Li Siqin and helped protect the imperial family, while Xia Wanwan kept her powers hidden to avoid drawing danger to her family. After learning that Daoist Qianyun and Uncle-Master Shunfeng had been ambushed in the Eastern Woods, Xia Siheng left with Yuanbao to rescue them.

• Yuanbao defeated Li Siqin, sealed her spiritual power, and Xia Siheng ordered the guards to take her to jail for interrogation.
• The emperor asked Xia Wanwan to remove the gu worm in his heart, but she said she needed a professional Daoist to handle it.
• Master Yuantong reported that Daoist Qianyun and Uncle-Master Shunfeng had been intercepted by a skilled magic user in the Eastern Woods outside the Capital.
• Xia Siheng told Xia Wanwan to remain in the palace and left with Yuanbao to find Daoist Qianyun and Uncle-Master Shunfeng.
• Liu Wan worried that Xia Siheng was walking into a trap, while the emperor privately mocked his younger brother’s affection for her.

Commandery Princess Yan'er confronted Xie Jinqian after their plot to seize Qingli City failed, but he persuaded her to wait for his next move. When Xia Siheng arrived at the inn, Xie Jinqian signaled his hidden forces and fighting broke out nearby.

• Commandery Princess Yan'er accused Xie Jinqian of failing to secure Qingli City and losing the Li Family's divine gu while Li Siqin was imprisoned.
• Xie Jinqian explained that he had intercepted Daoist Qianyun and blamed Southern Mei's people for failing to bewitch the emperor before he regained his senses.
• Commandery Princess Yan'er feared the Li Family and Southern Mei would turn against her, so she asked Xie Jinqian what to do next.
• Xie Jinqian told Commandery Princess Yan'er to wait, and she chose to trust him once more.
• Xia Siheng arrived at the inn with his men, and Xie Jinqian signaled his hidden forces as fighting broke out nearby.

Xia Siheng arrived at the inn and suspected the battle between Daoist Qianyun and a black-robed man was a trap to lure him away. As he and Daoist Qianyun prepared to strike together, Xie Jinqian watched from above and mistakenly concluded that his sister-in-law liked effeminate men.

• Master Shunfeng told Xia Siheng that he and Daoist Qianyun had been drugged at the inn, and that Daoist Qianyun was fighting the black-robed villain.
• Xia Siheng suspected the ambush was meant to draw him in, then signed Master Shunfeng's order before the monk left with Master Yuantong.
• Xia Siheng and Jing Wu joined the battle, and the black-robed man repeatedly sent Xia Siheng flying while Xie Jinqian watched from upstairs.
• Daoist Qianyun caught Xia Siheng and gave him a black elixir, claiming it would increase his power and protect his heart meridians.
• Xia Siheng swallowed the elixir, while Xie Jinqian decided that his sister-in-law liked effeminate men.

Xie Jinqian arranged for Commandery Princess Yan'er to take advantage of Xia Siheng after secretly drugging him, while his men staged his rescue and moved him to an inn. After returning to the Capital, Xie Jinqian went to a brothel with Jing Feng, who suggested he disguise himself as a seductive male courtesan to appeal to Madam Liu Wan.

• Xie Jinqian told Commandery Princess Yan'er that he had given Xia Siheng an elixir that weakened his internal energy and reason, and she went to act on her desire to marry him.
• Xie Jinqian ordered Jing Feng to rescue Xia Siheng and bring him to a private room, planning to fetch his sister-in-law to watch what happened.
• Xia Siheng pretended the elixir had made him weak as Daoist Qianyun led him away, while A Qi revealed that he had been posing as Daoist Qianyun and ordered his men to bring Commandery Princess Yan'er to the room.
• A Qi learned that the real Daoist Qianyun had escaped, but decided to focus on carrying out Xie Jinqian's plan and keeping watch over Xia Siheng.
• Xie Jinqian visited a brothel in the Capital, and Jing Feng arranged for male courtesans to appear and suggested Xie Jinqian dress up to attract Madam Liu Wan.

Xia Siheng and Liu Wan discovered that Xie Jinqian’s scheme had used the emperor as cannon fodder to target Xia Siheng, while Xia Wanwan revived the poisoned Daoist Qianyun. The emperor was cheered up by Liu Wan’s praise, then nearly stepped on Daoist Qianyun again.

• Xie Jinqian invited male courtesans to his room and told the madam that all of them would stay.
• Xia Siheng brought poisoned Daoist Qianyun to Dragon Splendor Palace, where Xia Wanwan recognized the poison and decided to save him.
• Liu Wan told Xia Siheng that Xie Jinqian had plotted to drive them apart, and Xia Siheng realized the emperor had been caught in the scheme as cannon fodder.
• The emperor protested that Xie Jinqian’s trap had nearly cost him his life, but Liu Wan praised his looks and urged him to remain emperor.
• Xia Wanwan told the emperor she had revived Daoist Qianyun, then warned him that he was about to trample the Daoist again.

Daoist Qianyun removed the female Gu Worm from the emperor, and Xia Siheng took Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan home. Xie Jinqian then led Liu Wan to the Capital Outskirts to show her what he believed was proof that Xia Siheng could not resist temptation, unaware that two figures were watching from the Inn's roof.

• The emperor accidentally stepped on Daoist Qianyun, who woke after spitting up poisoned blood and recovered enough to remove the Gu Worm.
• Daoist Qianyun extracted the female Gu Worm, and Xia Wanwan asked Eunuch Yu to make it into soup for Yuanbao.
• At the Liu Residence, Liu Wan recognized Xie Jinqian in an unusually delicate outfit and agreed to go with him to see Xia Siheng's supposed betrayal.
• Xie Jinqian told Jing Feng he wanted Liu Wan to give up on men and believed keeping her within his family would protect her.
• Xie Jinqian brought Liu Wan to an inn at the Capital Outskirts, while two figures lay hidden on its roof.

Xie Jinqian tried to make Liu Wan believe Xia Siheng was unfaithful, but she discovered Yuanbao had been framed by Commandery Princess Yan'er instead. Liu Wan rejected Xie Jinqian’s explanation and demanded he answer for setting Yuanbao up.

• Xie Jinqian brought Liu Wan to a guest room, claiming Xia Siheng was inside with another woman.
• Liu Wan entered and found Commandery Princess Yan'er tied to the bed while Yuanbao claimed she had tried to seduce him.
• Xie Jinqian realized Yuanbao had impersonated Xia Siheng and accused him of being a man in disguise.
• Yuanbao mocked Xie Jinqian’s appearance and clothes, infuriating him.
• Liu Wan accused Xie Jinqian of trying to drive a wedge between her and the Prince and demanded he answer for setting Yuanbao up.

Xia Siheng confronted Xie Jinqian over his scheme against Yuanbao and ordered him and Commandery Princess Yan'er taken to the palace. On the way to the Capital, Xie Jinqian summoned sinister forces to attack Xia Siheng, hoping to kill him.

• Xia Siheng arrived with Xia Wanwan and demanded that Xie Jinqian explain himself to Yuanbao, while promising to deal with Southern Mei himself.
• Xie Jinqian offered to make amends, but Yuanbao refused his thumb ring and asked whether Xie Jinqian had sent evil spirits to attack the Liu Residence.
• Xia Siheng ordered Xie Jinqian and Commandery Princess Yan'er arrested for their roles in the attacks on the emperor and Xia Siheng.
• Jing Wu secretly kicked Commandery Princess Yan'er as the Hidden Guards took her away.
• Xia Siheng escorted the prisoners toward the Capital, and Xie Jinqian used his thumb ring to summon sinister shadows against him.

Xia Wanwan joined Xia Siheng’s battle against increasingly powerful evil spirits while Liu Wan searched for their controller. Commandery Princess Yan'er grew jealous of Liu Wan and secretly prepared to attack her near a cliff as the carriage suddenly went over the edge.

• Liu Wan let Xia Wanwan leave the carriage to help Xia Siheng, and Xia Wanwan began gathering evil spirits into her cloth bag while Xia Siheng protected her.
• Liu Wan recognized that Xie Jinqian seemed to be controlling the evil spirits, while Commandery Princess Yan'er tried to enter Liu Wan’s carriage and Jing Er turned her away.
• Commandery Princess Yan'er secretly circled behind the carriage and gathered her internal energy, planning to attack Liu Wan when the others were distracted.
• As the evil spirits grew stronger and the Hidden Guards began to tire, Liu Wan spotted a strange piece of clothing behind a rock and warned Xia Siheng.
• The carriage suddenly left solid ground, and Liu Wan felt it falling.