Chapter Summaries

Liu Wan rejected Xie Jin'an's attempt to reconcile and let him believe he could rescue Concubine Xu without putting her under pressure. Xie Jin'an went searching for help, but he returned empty-handed before the day was out.

• Xia Wanwan worried that Liu Wan was helping Concubine Xu, but Liu Wan assured her she only wanted a promise from Old Madam.
• Xie Jin'an brought Liu Wan winter plum blossoms, apologized for favoring Concubine Xu, and asked her to forgive him.
• Liu Wan told Xie Jin'an that Old Madam and his mother had pressured her to rescue Concubine Xu, and he promised not to let them make things difficult for her.
• Wang Xia reported that Xie Jin'an had argued with Old Madam about Concubine Xu and then set out to find connections to free her.
• Liu Wan predicted that Xie Jin'an would fail, and he returned looking grim before the day was out.

Liu Wan refused to help Xie Jin'an without the conditions he had promised, while Xie Jin'an and his family struggled to find a way to save Xu Rourou. Old Madam concealed the truth about how she had gotten Xie Jin'an released from jail, and Xie Jinqiu arrived in terror, claiming Zhong Youyan had hurt him.

• Xie Jin'an complained that his old connections had refused to help him, and Liu Wan reminded him that she had lost her title and Death-Exemption Token.
• Xu Xinbo returned empty-handed after finding the Border City house demolished and being beaten while searching for Concubine Xu's jade pendant.
• Liu Wan agreed to think of a way to help, reminding Old Madam and Madam Li of the conditions they had promised her.
• Xie Jin'an questioned how Old Madam had secured his release two years earlier, and she falsely claimed the Duke of Zhenguo had repaid a favor to his grandfather.
• Xie Jinqiu rushed to Xie Jin'an for help, saying Zhong Youyan had hurt him, but Zhong Youyan claimed they were bedroom games and Madam Li ordered them to leave.

Liu Wan received a jade pendant linked to Concubine Xu’s family and learned from Xia Wanwan that it belonged to the Eldest Princess of Nanmei, who had been imprisoned by Xu Bo. The revelation connected Marquis Jing'an to the Xu Family’s past and left Liu Wan wondering who was secretly helping her.

• Zhong Youyan took Xie Jinqiu back to their courtyard and tormented him through the night after he saw her with a Hidden Guard.
• Liu Wan invited Mama Qing inside and gave her a warm-water bottle, then Mama Qing delivered a jade pendant said to have been found among ruins in Border City.
• Liu Wan rewarded Mama Qing with golden melon seeds and promised to find her an easier position, moving Mama Qing to tears of gratitude.
• Xia Wanwan recognized the jade as belonging to the Eldest Princess of Nanmei and recalled that Xu Bo had imprisoned and violated her for two years.
• Xia Wanwan revealed that Marquis Jing'an had secretly saved the Xu Family when the Late Emperor sent him to deal with them, leaving Liu Wan to wonder who had sent her the pendant.

Liu Wan watched the Nanmei Kingdom envoys enter the Capital with Xia Wanwan, who embarrassed Commandery Princess Yan'er and Daoist Wumo and sensed their dangerous intentions. At the banquet, Wanwan recognized the Gold-and-Jade Glazed Cup as containing familiar spiritual energy and realized her Grandmaster's urn was inside.

• Liu Wan took Xia Wanwan into the streets to watch the Nanmei Kingdom procession arrive in the Capital.
• Xia Wanwan called out Commandery Princess Yan'er's green teeth and Daoist Wumo's dirty shoes, sending both away in embarrassment.
• The eldest princess asked a palace maid to identify Xia Wanwan because she was searching for an infant foretold by a deity.
• Liu Wan joined Xia Siheng, Xia Zhao, and Liu Ye at the banquet after Xia Wanwan warned that Liu Ye would soon go into premature labor.
• Xia Wanwan recognized Daoist Wumo as the man who had sent a ghost to harm Consort Ling, and the banquet guests noticed his foul smell.
• The eldest princess presented the Gold-and-Jade Glazed Cup, and Xia Wanwan realized it held her Grandmaster's urn.

At a banquet, the Nanmei Kingdom challenged the Great Xia Dynasty to open its Gold-and-Jade Glazed Cup, but General Zong, Old General Mo, and Master Yuantong all failed. As the Eldest Princess demanded Qingli City in exchange for her emperor opening the treasure, Xia Wanwan climbed onto the vessel.

• The Eldest Princess presented the Glazed Glass Lamp and offered it to the Great Xia Dynasty, claiming its lid would release a divine spirit, while asking the emperor to agree to a request.
• General Zong tried to open the lid but failed, and Old General Mo broke his sword while prying at it.
• Master Yuantong's chanting had no effect, and his attempt to force the lid open sent him flying and left him coughing blood.
• Xia Wanwan crawled toward the Glazed Glass Lamp as the Nanmei people mocked her, and the Eldest Princess demanded that the emperor cede Qingli City.
• As the emperor prepared to refuse, the crowd cried out that Xia Wanwan had climbed onto the Glazed Glass Lamp.

Xia Wanwan opened the Glazed Glass Lamp and reunited with her former grandmaster, who offered three wishes. After he blessed Great Xia and Liu Wan, Xia Wanwan rejected the emperor’s offer of a noble title and asked him for a different father.

• Xia Wanwan lured the spirit from the Glazed Glass Lamp with potato chips, removed its lid, and told the emperor she would protect Great Xia.
• The old man recognized Xia Wanwan as his former disciple and offered her three wishes, while she remembered feeding him crushed chips mixed into his ashes.
• Xia Wanwan wished for blessings for Great Xia and her mother, then tried to make her third wish grant her three more wishes.
• The old man promised to fulfill her third wish after recovering his divine power and showered Great Xia with golden snow that restored the land and brought peace to its people.
• The Eldest Princess of Nanmei resented losing Qingli City and the Glazed Glass Lamp, while Liu Wan worried the Nanmei Kingdom would target Xia Wanwan.
• When the emperor offered Xia Wanwan a noble title, she asked him to give her a different father.

At the imperial banquet, Xia Wanwan warned through her thoughts that Daoist Wumo’s talismans were cursed, and the emperor forced him to give them to the Nanmei royal women instead. Afterward, Liu Wan sent Wanwan to Xia Siheng with Concubine Xu’s jade pendant, prompting the Eldest Princess to demand an investigation into Xu’s imprisonment.

• Liu Wan stopped Xia Wanwan from asking the emperor to make Xia Siheng her father and asked him to record Wanwan’s merit for a later reward.
• Xia Wanwan revealed in her thoughts that Daoist Wumo’s talismans were cursed and would kill the Empress Dowager and Imperial Consort Dowager.
• The emperor refused Wumo’s talismans for the two women and made him place them on the Eldest Princess and Commandery Princess Yan’er instead.
• After the banquet, the emperor ordered Xia Siheng to escort the envoys back to their embassy.
• Liu Wan sent Xia Wanwan to show Xia Siheng Concubine Xu’s jade pendant, and he told Wanwan that Xu was in prison.
• The Eldest Princess collapsed at the embassy and ordered her maid to investigate why Concubine Xu was imprisoned and find a way to free her.

The Eldest Princess had Xu Rourou taken from prison and ordered that she be kept alive for revenge against the Xu Family. When a body said to be Xu Rourou arrived at the Marquis's Residence, Liu Wan questioned whether it was really her and demanded the Old Madam honor her promise.

• The Eldest Princess learned the Xu Family still had living descendants and ordered Daoist Wumo to lift the curse afflicting her and Commandery Princess Yan'er.
• The Eldest Princess's people abducted Xu Rourou from prison, concealed the switch with a staged suicide, and were ordered to keep her alive.
• The Marquis's Residence received a body reported to be Xu Rourou, and the Old Madam, Madam Li, Xu Xinbo, and Xie Jin'an grieved over it.
• Xu Xinbo and the Old Madam blamed Liu Wan for Xu Rourou's death, while Qing Sheng stopped Xu Xinbo from striking her.
• Liu Wan urged everyone to check the body's identity and asked the Old Madam to honor her promise, prompting the Old Madam to order the cloth lifted.

After learning Xu Rourou was alive and recovering at the Embassy, the Marquis’s Residence looked forward to the benefits of her royal connections. Liu Wan rejected the Old Madam’s attempt to keep her and asked for a Divorce Agreement.

• Xu Xinbo identified the body as someone other than Xu Rourou because it lacked her birthmark, and Liu Wan said Xu Rourou was recovering at the Embassy.
• Madam Li and Xie Jin'an visited the Embassy and returned confirming Xu Rourou was alive and being cared for by the Eldest Princess of Nanmei.
• Xie Jin'an celebrated the prospect of Xu Rourou returning with a higher status, while the Old Madam considered how her connection could benefit the Marquis’s Residence.
• The Old Madam refused to honor Liu Wan’s promise immediately and said Xu Rourou would need to become an equal wife if she returned.
• Liu Wan asked the Old Madam and Heir Apparent to give her a Divorce Agreement.

Liu Wan demanded a Divorce Agreement from Xie Jin'an, but the Xie family refused and tried to force her back to her courtyard. She warned them that she would fight back, while keeping the evidence and witnesses she had prepared in reserve.

• Liu Wan demanded a Divorce Agreement, and Xie Jin'an accused her of jealousy and swept the writing materials to the floor.
• Liu Wan reminded the Old Madam that she knew about the past switching of the legitimate children, and Xie Jin'an begged her to stay and promised not to marry Xu Rourou.
• The Old Madam ordered Xie Jin'an to write Liu Wan a letter of repudiation and threatened her with White Silk, but Liu Wan insisted on a Divorce Agreement.
• The Old Madam summoned armed servants to surround Liu Wan and her companions, while Qing Da and Qing Sheng stood guard before her.
• Liu Wan reminded the servants of how she had helped them and warned the Xie family that she would repay any harm tenfold.

Liu Wan’s attempt to secure an amicable divorce collapsed after Madam Li attacked her and was struck unconscious by Liu Wan’s protective divine blessing. Back in her courtyard, Liu Wan resolved to seek help from her family and considered asking the Ninth Prince for protection, while Xie Zimu vowed to help her pass the Provincial Examination.

• Madam Li tried to slap Liu Wan, but a flash of white light sent her flying into a wall and knocked her unconscious.
• Zhong Youyan ordered servants to confine Liu Wan to her courtyard, and Liu Wan left with Qing Sheng and Wang Xia without obtaining a divorce agreement.
• Xie Zimu comforted Xia Wanwan and promised Liu Wan he would help after taking the Provincial Examination in two months.
• Liu Wan kept Wanwan’s merit secret and accepted Mama Qing’s advice to find a powerful protector.
• Liu Wan wrote a five-page letter to her mother and gave it to Mama Qing, who feared Old Madam might silence her and decided to side with Liu Wan and the Ninth Prince.

Liu Wan suspected that Xia Wanwan might resemble the Heir Apparent and spent a sleepless night wondering about her daughter’s origins. After Xia Wanwan returned from a fight with Xie Huaishan, Liu Wan heard her fearsome thoughts and advised her on how far to take revenge.

• Mama Qing knelt before Liu Wan and hinted that the Old Madam had hidden much from her, urging her to consider why the Ninth Prince repeatedly helped Xia Wanwan.
• Liu Wan wondered whether Xia Wanwan looked like the Heir Apparent, remembered her childhood affection for Xie Jin'an, and watched her daughter through a sleepless night.
• Pan Chun brought back a filthy, aggrieved Xia Wanwan and told Liu Wan that Xie Huaishan had tried to push the girl into a lake before Xia Wanwan chased him with iron hammers.
• Xia Wanwan’s thoughts revealed that she planned to challenge the Male Lead and use an Explosive Talisman against Madam Li, her father, and the Old Madam.
• Liu Wan told Xia Wanwan that she could fight back when wronged, but should understand where to draw the line.

Madam Li and the Old Madam plotted to kill Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan, while Zhong Youyan secretly set a trap involving Xie Jinqiu's medicine storeroom. Xia Wanwan's talisman exploded Madam Li's roof as she returned with medicine to poison Liu Wan, and Pan Chun fled with Xia Wanwan.

• The Old Madam decided Liu Wan and Xia Wanwan had to die, and Madam Li agreed to handle it after Xie Huaishan's pleading softened her resolve.
• Madam Li went to Zhong Youyan's courtyard for medicine, and Zhong Youyan tricked her into taking the storeroom key while hiding the real Xie Jinqiu beneath the covers.
• Zhong Youyan told Little Lucky Star to secretly remove the herbs after Madam Li took what she wanted, planning to frame her with a serious accusation.
• Madam Li returned with medicine intended to poison Liu Wan, but an explosion blew open her roof and destroyed the medicine.
• Pan Chun carried Xia Wanwan away in fright after realizing the little girl had given her a talisman to throw onto Madam Li's roof.

Xu Rourou expected the Eldest Princess to acknowledge her as a princess, but Commandery Princess Yan'er humiliated her before taking her to Prince Shuo's Manor. There, the Eldest Princess introduced Yan'er as her niece and left Xu Rourou waiting hopefully to learn what she would say about her.

• Xu Rourou demanded to see the Eldest Princess, but a palace maid rebuked her until Commandery Princess Yan'er arrived.
• Yan'er rejected Xu Rourou's claim to be her elder sister and ordered Xiao Yan to slap her.
• Yan'er said the Eldest Princess had sent her to take Xu Rourou somewhere, then had her dressed and brought her to Prince Shuo's Manor.
• A servant reported the visit to the Old Madam, who assumed the Eldest Princess planned to acknowledge Xu Rourou and let her return as mistress of the Jing'an Marquis Manor.
• At Prince Shuo's banquet, the Eldest Princess discussed cooperation with him before Yan'er arrived with Xu Rourou.
• The Eldest Princess introduced Yan'er as her niece and smiled at Xu Rourou, who hoped her mother was about to acknowledge her.

The Eldest Princess denied that Xu Rourou was her daughter and revealed that Xu Bo had falsely claimed she was to save himself and win favor with Marquis Jing'an. Xu Rourou learned that her identity and the Marquis's Residence's support had been part of a scheme, while the Eldest Princess vowed to torment her and her loved ones.

• The Eldest Princess drugged Xu Rourou and offered her to Prince Shuo, but Xu Rourou woke and stabbed him with a hairpin.
• The Eldest Princess had Xu Rourou dragged back to the Embassy and insisted she was not her daughter because she could not bear children.
• The Eldest Princess explained that Xu Bo had taken her jade pendant while imprisoning her and later falsely named Xu Rourou as her child to save his life.
• Xu Rourou realized Marquis Jing'an had supported her and arranged her bond with Xie Jin'an to gain favor with the Imperial House.
• The Eldest Princess vowed to kill Xie Jin'an, Xie Huaishan, and Xu Xinbo before Xu Rourou, then asked whether she wanted to know how her birth mother died.

The Eldest Princess revealed the truth about Xu Rourou’s birth mother and imprisoned Xu Rourou in a cage, threatening her son and brother. Meanwhile, Madam Li investigated the explosion that destroyed her roof, unaware that Xie Jinqiu was approaching her courtyard in a fury.

• The Eldest Princess told Xu Rourou that her father had poisoned her birth mother and ordered Daoist Wumo to hunt down Xu Bo’s reincarnated soul and destroy it.
• The Eldest Princess locked Xu Rourou in an iron cage and threatened to send her to Prince Shuo’s Manor, revealing that she had learned Xie Huaishan’s parentage from Xu Rourou’s brother.
• The Eldest Princess ordered servants to send Xu Rourou, cage and all, to Prince Shuo’s Manor, while Xu Rourou collapsed in despair.
• After Madam Li’s roof was blown up, the serving women and stewards investigated, and a maid reported seeing Wanwan near the courtyard.
• Madam Li dismissed the maid’s suspicion and went to Xie Jinqiu’s courtyard for medicine, where she saw him approaching with armed manservants.

Xie Jinqiu accused Madam Li of stealing his life-saving medicines, and the discovery of the herbs in her cellar led to a violent fight and her arrest. Meanwhile, Xia Wanwan used a talisman at the Charity Hall, then fled with Pan Chun, leaving an old serving woman screaming.

• Xie Jinqiu accused Madam Li of stealing his medicinal herbs, and Zhong Youyan denied taking them and offered to replace them.
• Little Lucky Star guided the servants to chests of medicinal herbs in Madam Li's cellar, including century-old ginseng.
• Xie Jinqiu slapped Madam Li and fought her, while their servants joined the brawl; Zhong Youyan sent Little Lucky Star to report them to the authorities.
• The authorities took Madam Li away after the fight left her bald and furious.
• Xia Wanwan sneaked toward the Charity Hall, sent a Creeping Crawl Talisman into Old Madam's room, and escaped with Pan Chun as an old serving woman screamed.

The emperor sent the Old Madam of the Jing'an Marquis Manor to the Eldest Princess of Nanmei as a frightening Great Xia specialty after she terrorized him. He stripped the Jing'an Marquis Manor of its noble title, while Xie Jin'an mistakenly expected the imperial decree to restore his position.

• The emperor rejected returning Nanmei's Gold-and-Jade Glazed Cup and ordered officials to find frightening Great Xia specialties to send in its place.
• The Old Madam crawled into the emperor’s room, terrified him, and was subdued with a slap and ice water.
• The emperor changed his punishment of the Jing'an Marquis Manor to stripping its noble title after Eunuch Yu reminded him to consider Liu Wan.
• The emperor sent the Old Madam to the Eldest Princess of Nanmei as a spirit medium and a Great Xia specialty.
• Xie Jin'an demanded that Liu Wan abandon their divorce, then went to receive Eunuch Yu’s decree believing it would restore his position.

Xie Jin'an learned that Jing'an Marquis Manor had been stripped of its title after the Old Madam went to the palace, while Liu Wan prepared to leave with Xia Wanwan and considered how to help others before departing. Xie Zimu chose to stay behind to protect Qing Da’s family, and Xie Jin'an set out to retrieve the Old Madam from the Eldest Princess.

• Eunuch Yu delivered the emperor’s edict stripping Jing'an Marquis Manor of its noble title and warned Xie Jin'an that the Old Madam had gone to the palace.
• Liu Wan learned that the Eldest Princess was holding the Old Madam at the Embassy, then sent messages to Xie Jin'an and the Ninth Prince.
• Xia Wanwan let slip in her thoughts that she had sneaked to Charity Hall, while Liu Wan pretended not to know and let her keep eating her chicken drumstick.
• Liu Wan offered to take Xie Zimu and Xie Zi Xing away, but Xie Zimu begged to stay so he could help Qing Da and his family escape the Xie family’s danger.
• Xie Jin'an heard that the Old Madam was with the Eldest Princess and decided to visit her and bring her and Huai Shan home.

At the Embassy, the Eldest Princess tormented Xu Rourou but changed her attitude toward Xie Jin'an after Daoist Wumo discovered that Xie Huaishan might be the Spirit Child. Xie Jin'an reunited with Xu Rourou and tried to take her home, while she hid her mistreatment and feared the Eldest Princess.

• Xu Rourou tried to kill herself, but the Eldest Princess's maid A Shu stopped her and the Eldest Princess threatened to keep her alive to torment her.
• Xie Jin'an arrived with Xie Huaishan and asked to see Xu Rourou and his grandmother, but the Eldest Princess initially refused.
• Xie Huaishan attacked the Eldest Princess, and Daoist Wumo restrained him and detected spiritual energy that suggested he was the Spirit Child.
• The Eldest Princess allowed Xie Jin'an to meet Xu Rourou, who concealed her injuries and begged him to take her home.
• Xie Jin'an went to ask the Eldest Princess to let Xu Rourou return with him, and she appeared outside the door as Xu Rourou trembled in fear.