Chapter Summaries

Madam Li learned that the Marquis's Residence had amassed a debt of 180,000 taels after she took control of the household, and realized that Liu Wan had been keeping its finances afloat. The accountant resigned, leaving Madam Li facing the prospect of the residence's shops, properties, and ancestral home being sold to cover the debt.

• Zhong Youyan refused to let Xie Jin'an overturn her decision about the household affairs and declared that she would no longer manage anything.
• The accountant showed Madam Li that the residence had run up a debt of 180,000 taels and that servants had gone unpaid for four months.
• The accountant explained that Liu Wan had used her own money to support the household, while the Fourth Master had diverted servants' allowances to aid the Third Master and Concubine Xu's father.
• Madam Li learned that the shops and properties might not cover the debt and that selling the ancestral residence could be necessary.
• Madam Li regretted taking control from Liu Wan, but rebuked the accountant when he defended Liu Wan's service to the family.
• The accountant presented his resignation and left, fearing he would be blamed if the authorities investigated the debt.

The Accountant left the Marquis's Residence after handing over its rotten accounts, while Liu Wan refused Xie Jin'an's pleas to manage the household again. Xia Wanwan's thoughts revealed that Xie Jin'an wanted Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token, and the token awakened her lost spatial pouch.

• The Accountant quit the Marquis's Residence and sent Liu Wan a letter of thanks through Qing Da.
• Xie Jin'an tried to coax Xia Wanwan into calling him Daddy, but she called Liu Wan Mother instead.
• Liu Wan confronted Xie Jin'an about abandoning her and Wanwan at Golden Mountain Temple and refused to manage the residence.
• After Xie Jin'an left, Xia Wanwan revealed that he wanted Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token, so Liu Wan gave the token to her.
• The token shone and entered Xia Wanwan's spiritual consciousness, where she recovered her Twenty-First Century spatial pouch and an Apple-Flavored Xizhilang Jelly that made people tell the truth.

After Xia Wanwan’s Cosmic Bag scattered treasures and she reunited with Liu Wan, the Marquis’s Residence tried to make Zhong Youyan cover a 200,000-tael jewelry-shop deficit. Zhong Youyan refused to take charge of the business without consulting her family, leaving the household’s finances unresolved.

• Xia Wanwan clung to Liu Wan after discovering her Cosmic Bag had come with her, and Liu Wan put away the dimmed Death-Exemption Token and a strange green object.
• Madam Li confessed the account-book crisis to the gravely ill Old Madam, who ordered her to summon Zhong Youyan to cover the deficit.
• Old Madam and Madam Li offered Zhong Youyan control of the household finances and the status of mistress of the residence if she settled the loss.
• Zhong Youyan said Xie Jin'an had forbidden her to interfere in household affairs, and she refused to manage Zhong Kui.
• Old Madam and Madam Li promised to let Zhong Youyan decide the third son’s affairs, but Zhong Youyan said she would consult her family before committing two hundred thousand taels.

Zhong Youyan and Xie Jinqiu settled into their new marriage, while Liu Wan heard gossip suggesting Zhong Youyan might be tormenting him behind closed doors. Madam Li and Xu Rourou then confronted Liu Wan about the household’s finances and begged her to spare Xu Rourou’s imprisoned father.

• Old Madam and Madam Li gave Zhong Youyan expensive gifts, and Zhong Youyan passed them to Little Lucky Star while hinting that she might help the Marquis’s Residence if Xie Jinqiu pleased her.
• Wang Xia told Liu Wan that servants suspected Zhong Youyan was whipping Xie Jinqiu at night, and Liu Wan worried that he might be drugging his wife as the family had once drugged her.
• Xia Wanwan overheard the gossip and insisted on accompanying Liu Wan to meet Madam Li and Xu Rourou.
• Wang Xia served Madam Li and Xu Rourou old tea with spit in it, while Xu Rourou slyly criticized Liu Wan’s spending.
• Madam Li accused Liu Wan of failing to warn her about the household deficit, but Liu Wan pointed out that Madam Li could have found it by reading the account books.
• Xu Rourou apologized to Liu Wan and begged her to spare her father, who had been imprisoned after being convicted.

Xu Rourou begged Liu Wan to use the Death-Exemption Token to save her father, but Liu Wan and Xie Jin'an refused to risk defying the law and angering the emperor. After Xu Rourou struck her head against a pillar, the household gathered in Xie Jin'an’s courtyard, where Madam Li blamed Liu Wan for the attempted suicide.

• Xu Rourou pleaded with Liu Wan to intervene in her father's poisoning case, but Liu Wan refused to interfere with the law.
• Madam Li demanded Liu Wan lend Xu Rourou the Late Emperor's Death-Exemption Token, but the servants and Xia Wanwan warned against using it.
• Xie Jin'an rebuked Madam Li and Xu Rourou for proposing to use the token, citing the danger to his standing at court.
• Xu Rourou accused the household of abandoning her and hurled herself at a pillar, injuring her forehead.
• Xie Jin'an and Madam Li carried Xu Rourou to his courtyard, where the household gathered and Madam Li blamed Liu Wan for refusing to help.

Liu Wan arrived amid the Marquis's family gathering and watched Zhong Youyan take charge of the household after securing a gradual investment from her family. When Madam Li insulted Xia Wanwan, Liu Wan finally struck back, defending her daughter and openly challenging the family.

• Xie Jinqiu revealed that Zhong Youyan's family would support the Marquis's Residence, and Madam Li handed Zhong Youyan the Matriarch's Jade Pendant and household authority.
• Zhong Youyan explained that her father would provide twenty thousand taels each month for ten months and place a Zhong Family manager in the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop.
• Madam Li praised Zhong Youyan, gave her a gold bracelet, and disparaged Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan.
• Madam Li insulted Xia Wanwan, prompting Liu Wan to slap her and defend her daughter's status.
• Liu Wan condemned Xie Huaishan as the son of a mistress and warned Madam Li not to compare him to Xia Wanwan again.

Xia Wanwan destroyed Xie Huaishan’s Sharira and caused Madam Li’s mouth to rot, while Liu Wan agreed to let Xu Rourou use the Death-Exemption Token to save her father. Liu Wan left to retrieve the token and discovered Xia Wanwan had another bead like the exploded Sharira, while the Dark Jade in the box caught the child’s attention.

• Xia Wanwan’s incantation made the Sharira around Xie Huaishan’s neck explode, leaving him unharmed but blackened by smoke.
• Madam Li’s lips developed painful, pus-filled wounds, and the Residence Physician took her away to treat her.
• Xu Rourou persuaded Xie Jin'an to ask Liu Wan for the Death-Exemption Token, and Liu Wan agreed on the condition Xu bore the consequences herself.
• Liu Wan took Xie Jin'an to her courtyard to fetch the token while Xia Wanwan gave her a transparent bead like the destroyed Sharira.
• Liu Wan carried out the box containing the Death-Exemption Token, and Xia Wanwan stared at the black Dark Jade inside it.

Zhong Youyan visited Liu Wan to discuss the Marquis's Residence's hidden financial scheme and joined forces with her to seek evidence and protect themselves. Liu Wan warned Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu was poisoning her, then watched her leave, reassured that the clever young woman could help her protect her children.

• Xia Wanwan hid Dark Jade and jelly in her cloth pouch, then drank more milk after waking hungry.
• Zhong Youyan visited Liu Wan and asked about Fourth Master's child and the nursing supplies in his courtyard.
• Liu Wan confirmed the child was Fourth Master's and explained that she had spoken up because she knew the truth.
• Zhong Youyan revealed that the Golden Radiance Jewelry Shop's accounts concealed a much larger financial hole, possibly tied to an imperial-court secret, and planned to uncover it by tracking a year's new accounts.
• Liu Wan warned Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu might be weakening her with poison, and the two agreed to stay in close contact.
• That night, Liu Wan held Xia Wanwan as her daughter murmured that she loved her.

The Marquis's Residence awaited an imperial decree after the disaster-relief mission, while Xie Jin'an weighed whether to give Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token to Xu Rourou. The Crown Prince arrived with Eunuch Yu, leaving the household hopeful that Xie Jin'an would receive a promotion.

• Pan Chun hurried to dress Xia Wanwan, and Liu Wan arrived at the Front Hall with her daughter despite Madam Li's complaints.
• Madam Li praised Zhong Youyan and blamed Liu Wan for the household's troubles, while Xie Jin'an remembered Xu Rourou's demands for the Death-Exemption Token.
• Xie Jin'an realized he did not want to lose Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan, then hoped the imperial rewards would resolve the dispute and bring him a promotion.
• Xia Wanwan worried that Xie Jin'an's promotion could make him neglect Liu Wan and help Xu Rourou's father get released.
• The imperial carriages arrived, and Eunuch Yu mocked Madam Li's swollen lips before Xie Jin'an respectfully welcomed the Crown Prince.

Xia Qianlin delivered an imperial decree rewarding Xie Jin'an and his household for their disaster-relief work, but Xie Jin'an was named the Dynasty's Auspicious Mascot instead of receiving a promotion. The Crown Prince then came to escort the Marquis's Residence's supposed noble infant into the palace, and Xie Jin'an proudly presented Xie Huaishan.

• Xie Zimu moved Xia Wanwan aside, and Xia Qianlin recognized him as the talented student praised by Grand Tutor Chen.
• Eunuch Yu read the imperial decree, awarding the household gifts and naming Xie Jin'an the Dynasty's Auspicious Mascot.
• Xia Qianlin explained that Imperial Consort Dowager Ling wanted to bring the Marquis's Residence's noble infant to the palace after her legs recovered.
• Xie Jin'an and Madam Li assumed Xie Huaishan was the noble infant, while Xia Wanwan thought the Consort Dowager's legs had recovered long ago and wondered why everyone sought the male lead.
• A maid brought Xie Huaishan, and Xie Jin'an introduced him to Xia Qianlin as the noble infant identified by Master Yuantong.

Xia Wanwan’s Sharira exposed her as the true Noble Infant, and Xia Qianlin took her and Liu Wan to the palace. At Charity Hall, Xie Jin'an rescued Xu Rourou from a staged suicide, but she learned that the Marquis’s credit would not secure her father’s release.

• Xie Jin'an claimed that Xie Huaishan was the Noble Infant, but Xia Wanwan produced a transparent Sharira after the one given to Huai Shan had supposedly exploded.
• Xia Qianlin’s Sharira shone with seven-colored light when Xia Wanwan spoke, silencing objections, and he ordered Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan escorted to the palace.
• Xie Zimu left with Xie Zixing, while a maid reported that Concubine Xu had hanged herself.
• Xie Jin'an rushed to Charity Hall and helped Xu Xinbo take Xu Rourou down from the noose.
• Xie Jin'an told Xu Rourou he had sought her father’s release, but Zhong Youyan explained that the Marquis’s Residence had received credit only for toil, not achievement.

Zhong Youyan overheard Xu Rourou’s secret affair with the man she believed was her elder brother and learned from servants that the Old Madam planned to use a Death-Exemption Token to save Xu Rourou’s father. As Zhong Youyan suspected Xu Rourou’s identity was connected to an arriving Nanmei Kingdom Historian, Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing discovered that their new charcoal was different.

• Xie Jin'an left Xu Rourou to consult the Old Madam about her father, while Zhong Youyan arranged for Mama Qing to eavesdrop.
• Zhong Youyan returned to Xu Rourou’s room and overheard her intimate conversation with a man she recognized as her elder brother, including claims that Xie Huaishan was Xu Rourou’s son.
• Mama Qing’s friend reported that the Old Madam wanted to give Xu Rourou a Death-Exemption Token to save her father and mentioned an identity token and the Nanmei Kingdom Historian’s arrival.
• Zhong Youyan paid the servants for their information and suspected Xu Rourou’s identity might involve relations between two kingdoms.
• Qing Da brought Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing a hand warmer and charcoal prepared by the Eldest Madam, and Xie Zixing noticed the charcoal was different from before.

Xie Zixing showed Xie Zimu his verses and ended up crying after his brother teased him. In the palace, Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan shared a first-snow meal with the Imperial Family, where Xia Wanwan charmed everyone before recalling that the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling faced tragic endings.

• Xie Zixing showed his verses to Xie Zimu, who suggested he was better at martial arts, and Xie Zixing cried.
• Liu Wan brought Xia Wanwan to Suhui Palace and found the emperor, the Empress Dowager, Consort Ling, and Xia Siheng gathered for a family meal.
• Consort Ling explained that she had invited Liu Wan to reward Xia Wanwan for driving away an evil spirit and said Liu Wan's aunt had once dined with them as family.
• The Empress Dowager and Consort Ling bickered until the emperor tried to stop them, and both women ordered him to shut up.
• Xia Wanwan refused food in protest, but Xia Siheng teased her by eating the baby food, so the Empress Dowager fed her instead.
• Xia Wanwan happily ate in the Empress Dowager's arms, then remembered that the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling had tragic endings.

Xia Wanwan wanted to visit the Coral Tree in Splendid Palace, so Xia Qianlin crawled after her through a dog hole and got stuck. After Xia Wanwan accidentally caused the wall to collapse and the Crown Prince was rescued, he carried her beneath the Coral Tree and learned she wanted to be buried.

• Xia Siheng sent Xia Qianlin to take Xia Wanwan outside while the adults discussed choosing a consort for the First Prince.
• Xia Wanwan insisted on entering Splendid Palace before its Coral Tree was moved, and she crawled through a dog hole when Xia Qianlin went to fetch the key.
• Xia Qianlin crawled after Xia Wanwan but got stuck, and she tugged his hair while trying to pull him through.
• Xia Wanwan wished the wall would collapse, and it crumbled, burying Xia Qianlin until palace servants rescued him.
• Xia Qianlin carried Xia Wanwan beneath the Coral Tree, where she pointed to a pit and asked to be buried.

Xia Wanwan saved Xia Qianlin from Xie Huaishan’s soul, which had attacked the Crown Prince to absorb his Dragon Qi. Xie Huaishan was injured and fainted at Jing'an Marquis Manor, where no physician was available.

• Xia Qianlin buried Xia Wanwan in a pit, and Eunuch Wang found them before being sent outside to stand guard.
• Xie Huaishan absorbed spiritual energy at Jing'an Marquis Manor and sent a soul toward the Imperial Palace.
• Xie Huaishan’s soul attacked Xia Qianlin and drained his Dragon Qi, but Xia Wanwan used an Exorcism Talisman to weaken it and beat it away.
• Xia Wanwan forced the soul to return the Dragon Qi to Xia Qianlin, then wondered whether the Crown Prince might be her family.
• Xie Huaishan vomited blood and fainted, while Yinliu discovered that the Residence Physician and Concubine Xu were both away.

After Xia Qianlin survived an evil spirit’s attack with Xia Wanwan’s help, he asked the emperor to betroth her to him as his future crown princess. Xia Wanwan was comforted and treated for her injury while Xia Siheng punished Xia Qianlin, and the emperor left to handle a case involving the Late Emperor’s Death-Exemption Token.

• Xia Qianlin recovered from the attack and told Xia Wanwan he wanted to marry into her family, while she crawled away grumbling about being denied meat mush.
• Eunuch Wang reported that an evil spirit had attacked the Crown Prince, and the emperor and others rushed to the Eastern Palace.
• Xia Qianlin and Xia Siheng told the emperor that Xia Wanwan had driven away the spirit and saved Xia Qianlin, and the emperor ordered them to keep her origins secret.
• Xia Qianlin asked the emperor to betroth Xia Wanwan to him as his future crown princess, and Xia Siheng took him aside to punish him.
• Liu Wan, the Empress Dowager, and Consort Ling comforted the injured Xia Wanwan, while the Empress Dowager ordered Master Yuantong summoned to investigate the evil spirit.
• A eunuch reported that the emperor had gone to address a case in which someone used the Late Emperor’s Death-Exemption Token to save a murderer.

Liu Wan denied giving Xu Rourou the Death-Exemption Token and accused her of stealing it, while Xie Jin'an tried to distance himself from the affair. Zhong Youyan backed Liu Wan’s claim that valuables had been stolen from her courtyard and revealed that tribute fabric had been found in Xu Rourou’s room.

• The emperor rebuked Xie Jin'an for using the Death-Exemption Token to save Xu Bo and struck him with a memorial.
• Xu Rourou claimed Liu Wan had given her the token, but Liu Shi accused her of slandering his sister.
• Liu Wan entered the Imperial Study, denied giving Xu Rourou the token, and said someone had stolen it from her room.
• Xie Jin'an denied being involved in the theft and claimed he had only accompanied Xu Rourou to visit her father.
• Liu Wan asked Zhong Youyan about previously reported thefts, and Zhong Youyan said expensive tribute Shu brocade had been found in Xu Rourou’s room.

The Emperor punished the Jing'an Marquis Manor over the stolen Imperial gifts, stripping Xie Jin'an of office and revoking Liu Wan's title and protections. Liu Wan left with Xia Wanwan, while Xia Qianlin's wish to marry the child earned him another beating from the Empress.

• Zhong Youyan revealed the shu brocade and falsely accused Xu Rourou of stealing it, and the Emperor recognized it as a gift to the Fifth Princess.
• Xie Jin'an doubted Xu Rourou, and the Emperor ordered Xu Bo executed, Xu Rourou jailed, Xie Jin'an stripped of office, and Zhong Youyan fined while the household received twenty strokes each.
• The Emperor confiscated Liu Wan's Death-Exemption Token and Imperial Lady Jade Pendant and revoked her title, after which Xu Rourou fainted and Xie Jin'an collapsed.
• Liu Wan collected Xia Wanwan from Xia Siheng and left, while Xia Siheng watched her tenderly and the Emperor joked about his own appearance.
• The Empress brought the bruised Xia Qianlin to the Imperial Study, then spanked him again after he insisted he wanted to marry Xia Wanwan.

After Zhong Youyan threatened to leave the Xie household, Madam Li and Xu Xinbo turned to rescuing Xu Rourou for the sake of her mysterious origins. In jail, Xu Rourou revealed that her mother had ties to the Nanmei Kingdom's Imperial House and left her a jade pendant that could prove her identity.

• Zhong Youyan accused Madam Li and the Xie family of protecting Xu Rourou, demanded a divorce, and left after Madam Li begged her to stay.
• Xu Xinbo urged Madam Li to seek Liu Wan's help and recover the Token of Identity hidden by his father.
• Madam Li agreed that Xu Xinbo should find the Token of Identity, believing Xu Rourou's origins could restore the family's fortunes.
• Xu Xinbo visited Xu Rourou in jail and told her Madam Li had gone to beg Liu Wan, but Xu Rourou accused Liu Wan of plotting to kill her.
• Xu Rourou told Xu Xinbo that her mother had left her a jade pendant and had ties to the Nanmei Kingdom's Imperial House.

Xu Xinbo told Xu Rourou that a jade pendant could prove her Nanmei royal identity and save her, while Liu Wan prepared to leave the Marquis’s Residence with her children. Old Madam then warned Liu Wan that Xu Rourou’s execution could provoke war and urged her to use her connections to save the concubine, leaving Liu Wan to decide how to respond.

• Xu Xinbo told Xu Rourou that finding her jade pendant before the Nanmei Kingdom Envoy reached the Capital could prove her identity, and Xu Rourou vowed to kill Liu Wan if she escaped.
• Liu Wan received a letter and property deeds for a house on Chunxi Road and told Wang Xia she needed somewhere to belong if times became hard.
• Liu Wan took Xia Wanwan to Charity Hall after Old Madam summoned her, and she insisted that Concubine Xu had stolen the token rather than being pressured to surrender it.
• Old Madam claimed Xu Rourou was connected to the Nanmei Kingdom’s Imperial House and warned that her execution could bring conflict and endanger the Marquis’s Residence and Liu Wan’s family.
• Old Madam asked Liu Wan to use her family’s connections to save Xu Rourou, and Liu Wan silently made her decision.