Chapter Summaries

Old General Mo rescued Xia Wanwan from the Eldest Princess and Daoist Wumo, and Liu Wan brought her home safely. At the palace, the Eldest Princess faced punishment while Commandery Princess Yan'er claimed Xia Wanwan had climbed into the sack willingly.

• Daoist Wumo returned Xia Wanwan to the Embassy, where Old General Mo and the Great Xia soldiers seized him and the Eldest Princess and rescued the child.
• Old General Mo carried Xia Wanwan outside, and Liu Wan took her into her arms as the child accused the Eldest Princess and her companions of bullying her.
• Liu Wan demanded that Old General Mo escort the Nanmei Kingdom group to the palace, then took Xia Wanwan home and arranged extra guards for the Liu Residence.
• The emperor punished the Eldest Princess, who insisted Xia Wanwan had entered the sack willingly.
• Commandery Princess Yan'er backed the Eldest Princess's story, knowing she had arranged Xia Wanwan's abduction.

The emperor threatened to execute the Eldest Princess, Commandery Princess Yan'er, and Daoist Wumo, then forced the Eldest Princess to cede ten jade mines to save herself and Yan'er. After the agreement was sealed, the Eldest Princess ordered Daoist Wumo's execution, but Xia Siheng stopped him from escaping with a talisman.

• The emperor dismissed the Eldest Princess's accusations and ordered the guards to behead her, Commandery Princess Yan'er, and Daoist Wumo.
• The Eldest Princess pleaded for mercy, and the emperor demanded jade mines from Nanmei in exchange for their lives.
• The Eldest Princess agreed to surrender ten border jade mines and sealed the agreement with her personal seal.
• The Eldest Princess blamed Daoist Wumo for her losses and ordered him beheaded.
• Daoist Wumo tried to escape with a talisman, but Xia Siheng struck it from his hand.

Xia Siheng and the emperor celebrated gaining ten jade mines from Southern Mei, while Xia Siheng ensured the mines would become Wanwan’s property after seventeen years of leasing. Later, Marquis Jing'an arrived at the Liu Residence seeking Liu Wan’s help for Eldest Master Xie, but the gatekeeper shut the door in his face.

• Commandery Princess Yan'er thanked Xia Siheng for stopping Daoist Wumo from escaping, and he dismissed her and the Eldest Princess from the palace.
• Xia Siheng reminded the emperor that the ten jade mines would belong to Wanwan when she turned eighteen and told him to make Daoist Wumo trade his secrets for his life.
• The emperor praised Wanwan’s actions and summoned Eunuch Yu to arrange a family visit to her.
• Marquis Jing'an refused Deputy General Qian’s suggestion to bring gifts when asking Liu Wan for help saving Eldest Master Xie.
• A Hidden Guard recognized Marquis Jing'an and slammed the Liu Residence gate shut, while Marquis Jing'an angrily cursed the gatekeeper.
• A carriage stopped outside the Liu Residence as Marquis Jing'an seethed.

Marquis Jing'an tried to force his way into the Liu Residence, but Xia Siheng revealed his interest in Liu Wan and drove him off. Jing'an decided to complain to the emperor, whose carriage arrived just as he was insulting its occupants.

• Marquis Jing'an confronted the Liu Residence’s gatekeepers and ordered Deputy General Qian to seize the man in the carriage.
• Xia Siheng emerged from the carriage, defeated Marquis Jing'an, and declared that he harbored ulterior motives toward Liu Wan and her daughter.
• Xia Siheng warned Marquis Jing'an to stay away from the Liu Residence, then entered with his men as the gatekeeper insulted and shut out the Xie family.
• Marquis Jing'an decided to report Xia Siheng to the emperor, hoping to exploit the emperor’s possible wariness of the prince.
• The emperor arrived in a carriage, and Marquis Jing'an insulted its occupants and kicked it without knowing who was inside.

The emperor confronted Marquis Jing'an after the marquis accidentally kicked his carriage, then used his accusations against the Ninth Prince to strip him of his military command and dismiss him from office. Marquis Jing'an was left stunned as the emperor claimed his troops and ended his career.

• Marquis Jing'an realized he had kicked the emperor and begged for forgiveness, repeatedly kowtowing until his forehead bled.
• Marquis Jing'an accused the Ninth Prince of plotting to take Liu and Princess Ximing under his control and warned that the prince threatened the emperor's position.
• The emperor asked how many troops Marquis Jing'an commanded, and the marquis proudly revealed he had thirteen thousand soldiers.
• Marquis Jing'an's deputy generals disowned him, while the emperor ordered him to hand over his troops.
• The emperor dismissed Marquis Jing'an from office, presenting retirement as compensation for taking his military command.

The emperor entered the Liu Residence after Marquis Jing'an collapsed, while the Empress Dowager and Consort Ling encouraged Liu Wan to consider remarrying and Xia Siheng grew jealous. When Wanwan could not be woken, the family carried her to the Coral Tree and prepared to bury her there.

• The emperor left Marquis Jing'an kneeling outside the Liu Residence, and Marquis Jing'an collapsed after regretting how he had treated Liu Wan and Wanwan.
• Deputy General Qian cleaned the blood outside the Liu Residence and impressed the arriving Empress Dowager.
• The Empress Dowager and Consort Ling asked Liu Wan about remarrying, and Liu Wan teased Xia Siheng by saying she could choose a husband from the capital's noble families.
• Xia Siheng shattered his thumb ring and went to wake Wanwan, but she remained asleep despite everyone's attempts to rouse her.
• The emperor summoned the imperial physicians, then took a shovel and led everyone to bury Wanwan beneath the Coral Tree.
• Zi Xing arrived with a bucket of water and asked whether they had buried his little sister yet so he could water her.

Xia Wanwan remained unconscious after overdrawing her spiritual power, and Master Zhongtong arranged for her Begonia Jade Beads to be restored. She woke the next morning, while Zhong Youyan proposed a scheme to Marquis Jing'an to save Xie Zimu and his son by making two people take the blame.

• Imperial Physician Huang examined Xia Wanwan and found her healthy, so the emperor summoned Master Yuantong and then Master Zhongtong to investigate why she would not wake.
• Master Zhongtong determined that Xia Wanwan had exhausted her spiritual power and that the Begonia Jade Beads on her wrist were draining it.
• Xia Siheng removed the beads, and Master Zhongtong arranged for his swift uncle-master to take them away, replenish their spiritual power, and return them by morning.
• Master Zhongtong put the restored beads back on Xia Wanwan, and she woke to find her worried family gathered around her.
• At the Xie Residence, Marquis Jing'an blamed Zhong Youyan for his troubles, but she proposed finding two people to take the blame so Xie Zimu and his son could be freed.

Zhong Youyan refused to help Marquis Jing'an withdraw his complaint, so Xie Jinzhao persuaded his father to frame Qing Da and send Xie Zimu to prison in exchange for Xie Huai Shan. Xu Rourou learned the Xie family had lost its hereditary title and feared the Eldest Princess, leaving her shaken and clinging to Huai Shan.

• Zhong Youyan left after Marquis Jing'an dismissed her warning that the case could not simply be made to disappear.
• Xie Jinzhao persuaded Marquis Jing'an to blame Qing Da for the theft and use Xie Zimu's alleged examination fraud to send him to prison in exchange for Xie Huai Shan.
• Xie Jinzhao told Xu Rourou that the emperor had stripped the Xie family of its hereditary title, shocking her.
• Xu Rourou begged Xie Jinzhao for soldiers to protect her and claimed the Eldest Princess wanted to take her away.
• After Xie Jinzhao left, Xu Rourou clung to Xie Huai Shan and cried that the Eldest Princess was toying with her.

Xu Rourou learned that the Old Madam had tried to expose her identity to Marquis Jing'an and went to obtain poison from the Medicine Room. Meanwhile, Zhong Youyan confronted the dying Xie Jinqiu and demanded a Divorce Agreement in exchange for taking him somewhere.

• Xie Huaishan promised Xu Rourou that he would protect her when he grew up, while Xu Rourou resolved to keep her identity secret until the Eldest Princess left Great Xia.
• A serving woman gave Xu Rourou a note found beside the Old Madam, then returned to Mama Qing with the stolen indentures.
• Yinliu told Xu Rourou that the Old Madam had written the note after hearing Marquis Jing'an was coming to see her, and Xu Rourou decided to go to the Fourth Master's Medicine Storeroom for poison.
• Zhong Youyan gave Xu Rourou the Medicine Room key, then visited Xie Jinqiu and told him his father had lost his command and official position.
• Xie Jinqiu asked Zhong Youyan to take him somewhere, and she agreed on condition that he give her a Divorce Agreement.

Zhong Youyan arranged for Xie Zimu and Qing Da to escape the Jail, and Xie Zimu reunited with his mother and siblings at the Liu Residence. As Liu Wan considered a new identity and surname for Xie Zimu, she received a booklet of potential husbands selected for her, leaving Xia Siheng disappointed.

• Zhong Youyan persuaded Qin Yan to help arrange a prisoner swap, freeing Madam Li and Xie Jin'an while Xie Zimu and Qing Da remained in the Jail.
• Xie Zimu used the Ninth Prince's jade pendant to secure his and Qing Da's escape, but Lord Qin then added them to a list of prisoners bound for Frontier labor.
• Xie Zimu reunited with Liu Wan and Qing Da reunited with his daughter, Qing Sheng, at the Liu Residence.
• Xie Zixing and Xia Wanwan welcomed Xie Zimu home, while Xia Siheng complained that Xia Wanwan had not kissed him for helping.
• Xie Zimu asked Liu Wan whether he needed a new identity or surname, and she said she would choose a surname after carefully choosing a husband.
• A palace nanny delivered Liu Wan a booklet of young gentlemen selected as potential husbands, and Xia Siheng looked aggrieved.

Xia Siheng joined Liu Wan as she opened Consort Ling’s register of marriage candidates, which turned out to contain only his own name and birth chart. When Liu Wan said she was unworthy because she had consummated her marriage with Xie Jin'an, Xia Siheng insisted that she had not and began to explain who had actually received her first time.

• Xia Siheng followed Liu Wan to her study and insisted on helping her choose from Consort Ling’s register.
• Liu Wan discovered that every candidate in the register was Xia Siheng, and he confessed that his feelings for her were sincere.
• Liu Wan said she felt unworthy because she had been intimate with Xie Jin'an, but Xia Siheng claimed Xie Jin'an had never touched her.
• Liu Wan recalled her wedding night with Xie Jin'an and grew upset when Xia Siheng questioned whether they had consummated their marriage.
• Xia Siheng soothed Liu Wan and began telling her that the person who had received her first time was someone else.

Xia Siheng told Liu Wan that she had bled the night they were together, clearing her of the accusations surrounding her marriage to Xie Jin'an. Liu Wan admitted she had liked Xia Siheng for years but wanted him to win Wanwan’s approval before they married, while Jing Wu arrived with news about the bandit chief’s son.

• Xia Siheng told Liu Wan that she had bled when Old Madam Xie drugged her and sent her to him, and suggested Xie Jin'an could not perform.
• Liu Wan realized Xie Jin'an’s inability to perform explained why she had not bled on her wedding night or conceived, and she felt her innocence had finally been proven.
• Xia Siheng told Liu Wan he had only ever loved her, and she admitted she had liked him but wanted him to respect Wanwan’s wishes.
• Liu Wan agreed to Xia Siheng’s proposal if Wanwan accepted him, then kissed his cheek when he asked her to leave her mark on him.
• Jing Wu and Jing Er discussed reporting that they had found the son of the bandit chief who had captured Minister Liu, and Jing Wu went to Xia Siheng.
• Xia Siheng excitedly told Jing Wu that Liu Wan had kissed him and must like him.

Xia Siheng celebrated his hopes of marrying Liu Wan, while Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing discussed the family’s future and Xia Wanwan rejected the idea of having Xie Jin'an as her father. When Xie Jin'an knelt outside the Liu Residence and spread rumors about Liu Wan keeping him from his daughter, Liu Wan took Wanwan to confront him.

• Xia Siheng sent Jing Wu to clean latrines for a month, rewarded Jing Er, and left to share his good news with Liu Wan.
• Xie Zimu and Xie Zixing played with Xia Wanwan, and Xie Zimu suggested that the Ninth Prince might become their father.
• Xia Siheng advised the boys to cherish their reunion with Liu Wan and silently looked forward to returning as Xia Wanwan’s father.
• Xia Wanwan told Liu Wan she did not want a father, and Liu Wan promised not to forgive anyone her daughter disliked.
• A servant reported that Xie Jin'an was kneeling outside the Liu Residence and accusing Liu Wan of keeping him from Princess Ximing.
• Liu Wan took Xia Wanwan with her to face Xie Jin'an at the gate.

Xie Jin'an begged Liu Wan to let Xia Wanwan visit her dying great-grandmother, but Liu Wan rejected his claims that the Xie family had treated Wanwan well. Wanwan confronted Xie Jin'an and denied that he was her father, leaving him humiliated in front of the crowd.

• Xie Jin'an knelt outside Liu Wan's home and pleaded to see Xia Wanwan, drawing sympathy from some of the gathered commoners.
• Liu Wan reminded Xie Jin'an that he had driven Wanwan out and accused the Xie family of mistreating her, silencing the crowd.
• Xie Jin'an called himself Wanwan's father and urged her to return to the Xie Residence, promising to give her the best.
• Xia Wanwan asked how he could be her father now that she was a princess, then called him an unfilial son and slapped him on the head.

Xia Wanwan and Liu Wan turned Xie Jin'an’s attempt to claim his daughter against him, and the onlookers drove him away with a beating. Liu Wan retreated to the main gate with Xia Wanwan, who secretly enjoyed watching him get pummeled.

• Xia Wanwan slapped Xie Jin'an twice and cried that he and Old Madam Xie had mistreated her.
• Liu Wan comforted Xia Wanwan and appealed to the crowd not to force the frightened princess to go with her father.
• Xie Jin'an accused Liu Wan of making Xia Wanwan lie, but Liu Wan argued that the child could not fabricate such accusations.
• The onlookers condemned Xie Jin'an, and several people attacked him as others drove him away from Princess Ximing.
• Liu Wan reached the main gate under the Hidden Guards’ protection while Xia Wanwan secretly watched Xie Jin'an being beaten.

After Xie Jin'an was beaten by the crowd, he returned to the Xie Residence and learned that Old Madam might die soon. Xu Rourou tried to suffocate Old Madam, but someone burst into the room before she could confirm the death.

• Marquis Jing'an scolded Xie Jin'an for failing to handle the crowd, while Madam Li comforted her injured son.
• Madam Li told Xie Jin'an that Old Madam had lost consciousness and might not survive more than a day or two.
• Madam Li urged Xie Jin'an to stay with Xu Rourou for the sake of her birthright as the Eldest Princess's daughter, and he agreed to endure the marriage.
• Xu Rourou went to the Charity Hall, beat and tormented Old Madam, then pressed a pillow over her face to suffocate her.
• As Xu Rourou wondered whether Old Madam was dead, someone kicked open the door.

Xu Rourou was caught beside the dead Old Madam Xie and denied killing her, but Yinliu revealed that Xu Rourou had poisoned and abused the Old Madam. Madam Li found bruises and scars on the body, and she turned against Xu Rourou.

• Yinliu entered as Xu Rourou held a pillow over the Old Madam, and Madam Li and Marquis Jing'an witnessed the scene.
• Madam Li found that the Old Madam was no longer breathing, and Marquis Jing'an struck and accused Xu Rourou of killing her.
• Yinliu initially pleaded for Xu Rourou, then confessed that Xu Rourou had poisoned the Old Madam the previous night and abused her.
• Marquis Jing'an ordered the Residence Physician and the Fourth Master's wife to be summoned.
• Madam Li uncovered bruises, scars, and red welts on the Old Madam's body, then wept and stared furiously at Xu Rourou.

After the Old Madam died from poison, Marquis Jing'an blamed Xu Rourou and nearly attacked her and Madam Li before Xie Jin'an and Xu Xinbo stopped him. The family decided to make the Eldest Princess acknowledge Xu Rourou the next day, leaving Xu Rourou terrified of what would happen.

• Zhong Youyan revealed that a packet of poison was missing from the Medicine Storeroom, and the Residence Physician confirmed that the Old Madam had died from poisoning.
• Marquis Jing'an attacked Xu Rourou, struck Xie Huaishan and Madam Li, and insisted Xu Rourou must pay for the Old Madam's death.
• Xu Xinbo and Xie Jin'an intervened to restrain Marquis Jing'an and prevent him from harming Xu Rourou and Madam Li further.
• Xie Jinzhao proposed using Xu Rourou's identity to force the Eldest Princess to acknowledge her and win benefits for the Xie Residence.
• Marquis Jing'an agreed to summon the Eldest Princess the next day, while Xu Rourou feared the coming confrontation.

Zhong Youyan freed Yinliu and arranged for her to start a new life, then learned of Xie Jinqiu’s death and discovered the ledger he had left behind. When she went to intervene after Qing Sheng’s mother pushed Madam Li into a pond, Madam Li was about to have the servant beaten to death.

• Zhong Youyan gave Yinliu her Servant Contracts and a thousand taels, then arranged for her to leave and begin work under a new identity.
• Jin Yu told Zhong Youyan that Xie Jinqiu had died, and she read his letter and found a ledger implicating the Xie Residence and a stamped Divorce Agreement.
• Zhong Youyan ordered Jin Yu to bury Xie Jinqiu beside his mother without marking their names on the gravestone.
• Qing Sheng’s mother pushed Madam Li into a pond while secretly returning from burning Young Master Zi Mu’s adoption papers.
• Madam Li ordered Qing Sheng’s mother beaten to death, but Zhong Youyan arrived and called for them to stop.

Zhong Youyan helped Qingsheng's Mother escape the Xie Residence by arranging for her to be sold to the Liu Family, while Xu Rourou and Madam Li each planned to flee with Xu Xinbo. The chapter ended with Madam Li asking Xu Xinbo to elope with her.

• Zhong Youyan pretended to be furious at Qingsheng's Mother in front of Madam Li, then explained their plan to sell her to the Liu Family so Zi Mu could reunite her with her family.
• Qingsheng's Mother revealed that she had burned the adoption documents and Young Master Zi Xing's documents before Zhong Youyan sent her away with a hidden guard.
• Xu Rourou told Xu Xinbo she wanted to escape with him and Huai Shan if Madam Li could not protect her from the Eldest Princess.
• Xu Xinbo went to Madam Li, who told him she no longer wanted to stay with Marquis Jing'an and asked him to elope with her.