Chapter Summaries

The emperor misunderstood Little Wanwan’s explanation of how the Empress Dowager became beautiful and arranged to be buried with her in coffins. Liu Wan and Xia Siheng arrived at the Imperial Bedchamber to find the emperor and Wanwan in the middle of the burial.

• The Empress Dowager beat the emperor for refusing to make Little Wanwan a princess, while Minister Liu overheard their conversation and fled in terror.
• After the Empress Dowager left, the emperor asked Little Wanwan how she had made her beautiful, and she tried to explain that they had been buried in a pit.
• The emperor mistook her explanation as instructions to bury them again and ordered Eunuch Yu to prepare two coffins.
• Eunuch Yu told Liu Wan that only the Ninth Prince could save the emperor and her daughter, so Liu Wan went to find Consort Ling.
• The emperor had Little Wanwan lie in a yellow rosewood coffin, then climbed into his own coffin and ordered the servants to bury them together.
• Xia Siheng arrived at the Imperial Bedchamber with Liu Wan, who nearly fainted at the sight.

Liu Wan rescued Xia Wanwan from a coffin, while Xia Siheng exposed the emperor’s burial-game ruse and confronted him about involving the child. In the side hall, Xia Siheng heard Xia Wanwan’s thoughts praising his looks and was invited by Liu Wan to visit his mother, Consort Ling.

• Liu Wan rushed to the small coffin and lifted Xia Wanwan out after the child poked her head through the lid, then scolded her for frightening her.
• Xia Siheng kicked open the emperor’s coffin and ordered Eunuch Yu to pull the emperor out, then sent Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan to a side hall.
• After everyone left, the emperor sat up and explained that he had buried himself with Xia Wanwan because he believed she improved his appearance.
• Xia Siheng warned the emperor not to make Xia Wanwan a princess and said he would protect her and Liu Wan from trouble involving Jing'an Marquis Manor.
• In the side hall, Xia Wanwan’s thoughts praised Xia Siheng’s appearance, and he wondered whether the baby had spoken.
• Liu Wan asked after Consort Ling, and Xia Siheng invited her to visit his mother while she was in the palace.

Liu Wan visited Dowager Consort Ling with Little Wanwan, while Xia Siheng learned how Liu Wan and her late aunt had saved him as a child. Little Wanwan revealed in her thoughts that she could drive away the ghost haunting the Dowager Consort, and Xia Siheng resolved to keep her nearby; the chapter ended with him hearing the story of his adoption for the first time.

• Xia Siheng invited Liu Wan to Dowager Consort Ling's palace and took Little Wanwan outside while Liu Wan and the Dowager Consort talked.
• Little Wanwan thought that the ghost haunting Dowager Consort Ling might kill her by the next day, and Xia Siheng secretly heard her thoughts.
• Xia Siheng told Little Wanwan that a ghost had attached itself to his mother, and she thought that ghosts would have to greet her as their ancestor.
• At dinner, Dowager Consort Ling doted on Little Wanwan, who grabbed and sucked on a piece of pork belly.
• Dowager Consort Ling recounted how Liu Wan and her aunt found Xia Siheng unconscious in the snow and persuaded the Late Emperor to let her adopt him.
• Xia Siheng realized he had never known how he was found and looked at Liu Wan.

Liu Wan remembered how she had helped Xia Siheng as a neglected boy in the Cold Palace, while Xia Siheng realized their bond began long before he thought. When a headless female ghost attacked Consort Ling, Xia Wanwan subdued it and rode its head back to Xia Siheng.

• Liu Wan told Xia Siheng that she had once found him freezing in the Cold Palace and brought Consort Ling to save him.
• Xia Siheng recalled that he had loved Liu Wan too late and interrupted Consort Ling when she mentioned his past marriage plans.
• A female ghost attacked Consort Ling after Liu Wan left, and Xia Siheng used his dark jade pendant to shield her.
• Xia Siheng borrowed Xia Wanwan from Liu Wan and hurried back to Consort Ling's Imperial Bedchamber.
• Xia Wanwan pulled off the ghost's head, rode it around the palace, and brought it to Xia Siheng.

Xia Siheng questioned the ghost woman haunting Consort Ling and learned that Consort Man had betrayed her and that a Taoist from the Nanmei Kingdom was aiding Former Dynasty Rebels. Xia Wanwan secretly marked the ghost with milk, while Xia Siheng realized she wanted to become a princess.

• Xia Wanwan debated whether to use her spiritual energy to save Consort Ling while Xia Siheng recovered from seeing her ride the ghost woman.
• Xia Siheng questioned the ghost, who revealed she was Xiao Ju and had been haunting Consort Ling to avenge Consort Man.
• Xia Siheng and Consort Ling explained that Consort Man had betrayed Xiao Ju and been executed for her affairs, leaving Xiao Ju furious at her former friend.
• Xiao Ju revealed that a Taoist from the Nanmei Kingdom had promised to help her reincarnate if she killed Consort Ling, and Xia Wanwan helped put Xiao Ju's head back on backward.
• Xia Wanwan secretly marked Xiao Ju with milk and thought her soul would perish at dawn, while Xia Siheng picked up that she wanted to be a princess.

Xia Siheng asked the emperor to make Xia Wanwan a princess, and the emperor agreed after claiming an Old Immortal had warned him to honor her. Liu Wan returned to the Liu Residence with Xia Wanwan for her elder brother’s wedding, where the family welcomed them and Minister Liu suggested sending the unusually precocious child to school when she turned two.

• Liu Wan concealed the palace maid’s story about Xia Wanwan riding the female ghost’s head and asked Xia Siheng and Consort Ling to keep the nighttime visit secret.
• Xia Siheng woke the emperor and asked to borrow his throne so Xia Wanwan could become a princess; the emperor agreed after recounting his dream of the Old Immortal.
• Liu Wan helped the Fifth Princess prepare her dowry, then returned to the Liu Residence with Xia Wanwan and reunited with Lady Liu.
• Liu Wan dressed Xia Wanwan in red for the wedding, and the guests praised the child and filled her pocket with red envelopes.
• At the wedding feast, Xia Wanwan asked for meat, and Minister Liu marveled at her early speech before suggesting she attend school at two.

After Xia Wanwan revealed that a spy in the Minister's Residence would destroy her family, Liu Wan arranged a cooking contest to identify him. The chapter ended with Uncle Li winning the contest and Xu Bo leaving in displeasure.

• Xia Wanwan's thoughts warned the family that a spy named Xu Bo would kill Uncle Li and later help bring ruin upon the Minister's Residence, so Liu Wan arranged a cooking contest between them.
• Liu Ye and Xia Zhao completed their wedding-night rituals, and the next day Xia Zhao gave Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan two bolts of rare Shu brocade.
• Liu Wan and Lady Liu visited the kitchens, where Uncle Li and Xu Bo prepared baby food for Xia Wanwan.
• After secretly having the food tested for poison, Liu Wan let Xia Wanwan choose between the dishes, and Xia Wanwan picked Uncle Li's meat soup.
• Xu Bo left the dining hall in displeasure after Liu Wan chose Uncle Li.

Xu Bo tried to poison Uncle Li after learning the Marquis's Residence was in turmoil, but Xia Wanwan stopped Uncle Li from tasting the tainted food. When Uncle Li started to leave with her, Xu Bo attacked him to keep the poisoning from being exposed.

• Xu Bo went to a medicine shop to deliver information and learned that the Old Madam was under house arrest and the Third Master had been arrested.
• Wang Xia and the others tracked Xu Bo, and Wang Xia replaced his medicine bottle with one containing laxative.
• Xu Bo returned to the kitchen and secretly poured the medicine into a dish meant for Uncle Li to taste.
• Xia Wanwan crawled into the kitchen, ate puréed meat, and warned Uncle Li not to eat Xu Bo's dish.
• Xu Bo slapped Xia Wanwan's hand when she cried out that the food was poisoned, and Uncle Li refused to help him taste it.
• As Uncle Li tried to leave with Xia Wanwan, Xu Bo grabbed him and forced his head down onto the counter, then tried to stuff the dish into his mouth.

Xia Wanwan exposed Xu Bo’s poisoning attempt, and Uncle Li turned the tables while the Liu family punished Xu Bo. Liu Ye showed Liu Wan the winter plum he had planted for her, but Liu Wan said it had bloomed too late.

• Xu Bo tried to poison Uncle Li, but Uncle Li fought back and forced Xu Bo to eat the food.
• Liu Wan and Lady Liu arrived, learned what Xu Bo had done, and ordered him beaten and sent to the Government Office.
• Xu Bo was jailed, where he encountered Xie Jinzhao and suffered the effects of the laxatives he had eaten.
• Liu Wan’s family gathered around Xia Wanwan and reassured her that Uncle Li was safe and Xu Bo had been punished.
• Liu Ye told Liu Wan he had planted a winter plum for her years ago, and Liu Wan replied that it was blooming five years too late.

Liu Wan learned from Xia Wanwan’s thoughts that Liu Shi had been deceived into accepting Li Duoduo’s love token, and she arranged to investigate the match rather than oppose him outright. When Liu Wan returned to the Marquis’s Residence, Qing Da warned that the household was in crisis over unpaid wages and Fourth Master was preparing to kill several servants.

• Liu Shi returned from disaster relief and told Liu Wan he expected a promotion and wanted to marry Li Duoduo, who had treated his wounds.
• Xia Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that Li Duoduo had staged the cat attack and was secretly involved with Third Uncle while courting Liu Shi.
• Liu Shi heard Xia Wanwan’s thoughts and agreed to let Liu Wan investigate Li Duoduo before arranging a meeting.
• Liu Wan took her aunt’s jade pendant and traveled back to the Marquis’s Residence with Liu Shi and Xia Wanwan.
• Qing Da told Liu Wan that the residence could not pay its servants and Fourth Master was about to have several servants beaten to death.

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.