Recaps

Jiang Yingcheng exposed corruption and conspiracies while helping Lu Yao investigate threats around the palace and foreign delegations. After returning safely to the palace, she learned of a future danger to Jiang Qiuyu and Jiang Xingran and clashed with Luo Fuying at the Academy.

• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Wan Pu’s crimes, helped Lu Yao claim his businesses for the emperor, and revealed official corruption that led Jiang Yanchuan to send Kan Ruifeng against the bandits of Linyan Prefecture.
• Jiang Yingcheng uncovered a scheme to abduct commoner girls for officials’ marriages, while Wu Leyong helped Kan Ruifeng trap the bandits at Sipan Mountain.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed the Fourth Prince’s future betrayal and Great Rui’s decline, and Sheng Wenli’s arrival brought out his history with Jiang Yanchuan and his wish to arrange a marriage with Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Qiu Ji’s fake tribute and helped the foreign rulers spend lavishly before joining Lu Yao’s investigation of Shao Xuan and the Ruler of Danxia.
• Jiang Yingcheng and her companions discovered the Ruler of Danxia’s secret meeting and poison plot, then recognized the mole that could reveal his identity to Zhujin.
• Jiang Yanchuan brought Jiang Yingcheng back to the palace, warned her about the danger of wandering off, and promised to take her on a tour after the New Year’s Banquet.
• At the Academy, Jiang Yingcheng learned that Luo Fuying would aid the Fourth Prince in attacking Jiang Qiuyu and Jiang Xingran, then turned the other children against Luo Fuying after she mocked her weight.

Jiang Yingcheng uncovered Prince Xin’s secrets, helped expose schemes among foreign rulers, and became entangled in a confrontation at Shaking Light Hall. The arc left Jiang Yingcheng and the children facing Chi Yimian and Noble Consort Rou after Luo Fuying abandoned her mother to the Poison Needles.

• Jiang Yingcheng lured Luo Fuying and the princes into the Cold Palace’s Secret Chamber, where the group discovered a hidden passage, a treasure room, and a coffin for Prince Xin’s mother.
• A masked intruder sealed the chamber and filled it with poisonous smoke, but Jiang Yingcheng guided Liaochen and the children through a secret route to an exit guarded by Jiang Yanchuan’s search party.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed Xing Hengyi’s connection to Prince Xin, then gave Jiang Yanchuan a redwood box containing a note that exposed Consort Shu’s past and Prince Xin’s false claim about the Late Emperor’s succession plans.
• Jiang Yingcheng shared a wound-medicine formula with Kan Ruifeng and used officials’ schemes to embarrass foreign rulers at the New Year’s Banquet.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed plots involving the rulers of Danxia, Jianggu, and Tiansheng, then learned that Prince Jing and Kou Qiwen planned to target the Crown Prince.
• At Shaking Light Hall, Jiang Yingcheng and the children overheard Noble Consort Rou pressuring the Imperial Consort to help eliminate the Eleventh Princess in exchange for sparing Luo Fuying.
• Chi Yimian confronted the children as they tried to escape, but Jiang Yingcheng distributed Hidden Weapon Cases and the group drove her back with Poison Needles.
• Noble Consort Rou ordered a palace maid to seize Luo Fuying, but Luo Fuying pulled away from Chi Yimian and left her mother exposed as Jiang Yingcheng dropped her final Hidden Weapon Case.

Jiang Yingcheng exposed plots and dangers during the New Year's Banquet, helping Great Rui confront foreign intrigue and uncover conspiracies within the court. After the banquet, Jiang Yanchuan faced the officials over the Fake Princess secret, and a portrait revealed the little one's birth mother.

• Jiang Yingcheng helped expose Noble Consort Rou's role in Chi Yimian's attack, and Emperor Mingze demoted Noble Consort Rou to Consort Shu.
• At the New Year's Banquet, Jiang Yingcheng revealed plots against Jiang Tinghuai and Consort Lan, then exposed Xu Suxue's intended poisoning and the unhappy fate awaiting Tan Zhining.
• Sheng Wenli proposed a marriage between Sheng Shixu and Jiang Yingcheng, and Jiang Yingcheng's thought that she was a fake princess alarmed the court.
• Jiang Yingcheng helped the officials catch Shao Xuan poisoning the Ruler of Zhujin, then exposed Shao Xuan's disguise and linked him to the Ruler of Danxia's suspicious courtyard.
• The Ruler of Danxia took Qiao Yunbai hostage, but Qiao Yunbai struck him with Poison Needles, while Jiang Yingcheng exposed Kou Qiwen's attempt to switch Jiang Tinghuai's sachet and accused him of stealing Gold Beans.
• Zhong Chengwang planted the Gold Beans in Kou Qiwen's sachet, and Jiang Yingcheng used the matching sachets to accuse him of theft.
• After Duke Wang asked to retire to his hometown with the Eleventh Princess, Lu Yao presented Jiang Yanchuan with records of cases solved through Jiang Yingcheng's thoughts.
• Jiang Yanchuan questioned the officials about concealing the Fake Princess matter, and Eunuch Changshun revealed a portrait of Jiang Yingcheng's birth mother.

Jiang Yanchuan took Jiang Yingcheng and a group of officials to Jiangnan, where they uncovered Gu Ruizhou’s past and the Heavenly Origin Sect’s rebellion. After exposing the sect and the corrupt County Magistrate of Quchun, they left Jiang Yingcheng claiming there were more rebel organizations to investigate.

• Jiang Yanchuan secured residences near the Lin Residence to monitor Fang Yiwan, then assembled a caravan of officials and promised Jiang Yingcheng a trip to Jiangnan.
• At the inn in Qu Chun, Jiang Yingcheng recognized Gu Ruizhou as the former chancellor who had faked his death, and revealed that Duke Wang had helped him escape and funded his new life with funeral contributions.
• Jiang Yanchuan reassured Gu Ruizhou, compensated him for the burned Chancellor’s Residence with the inn, and appointed him County Magistrate of Quchun.
• In Qu Chun’s market, Jiang Yingcheng identified toy sellers as rebels, and Jiang Yanchuan and the officials followed Shi Ye into their courtyard.
• The group learned that the Heavenly Origin Sect was recruiting followers under a false promise of treasure, while its leader had been paying the County Magistrate for protection.
• The County Magistrate and sect leader tried to arrest Jiang Yanchuan’s party, but Lu Yao revealed his identity and Xu Jiu’s men subdued the rebels.
• Jiang Yingcheng confirmed that the magistrate’s soldiers had not joined the rebels, then demanded compensation from the magistrate and sect leader and hinted that more rebel groups remained in Qu Chun.