Chapter Summaries

During Morning Court, Jiang Yingcheng uncovered the strange story behind Lan Yangyu’s adopted son, Lan Jiming, and revealed why a foreign spy had targeted him. The officials were left alarmed by the spy’s claims, then cautiously reassured by Jiang Yingcheng’s lighthearted reaction.

• Zhang Zhao felt vindicated after Jiang Yingcheng promised to help with his concubine problem, though her thoughts about his scary smile embarrassed him.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Lan Jiming was the son of an enemy kingdom’s deceased general, whom a loyal servant had hidden in a mountain cave before Lan Yangyu found and adopted him.
• Lan Yangyu and the officials learned that the loyal servant had searched for the missing baby while Lan Yangyu unknowingly took him home and later blamed his family for abandoning him.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that a foreign spy had recognized Lan Jiming’s token and falsely claimed that Great Rui had killed his relatives and that Lan Yangyu had adopted him while pursuing them.
• The officials grew anxious about the spy’s access to Lan Yangyu’s work, but Jiang Yingcheng paused to enjoy pastries and left them unsure whether the danger was truly serious.

Jiang Yingcheng discovered that Lan Jiming had invented elaborate corruption rumors about Lan Yangyu to win an Enemy Kingdom spy’s trust without revealing real secrets. She then read a scandalous book about Lan Yangyu and uncovered an even more outrageous fabrication about him and Kan Ruifeng.

• Jiang Yingcheng read that Lan Jiming had tested the spy without disclosing substantial information, easing the officials’ fears.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Lan Jiming had written a lengthy account of Lan Yangyu’s supposed corruption and spread supporting rumors to deceive the spy.
• The officials praised Lan Jiming’s supposed filial cleverness while Lan Yangyu seethed at the fabricated stories.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked System Bro to show her The Minister of Personnel’s Untold Stories and read that Lan Yangyu supposedly had numerous illegitimate children and luxury residences.
• Jiang Yingcheng offered to tell Lan Yangyu what she had found in exchange for two plates of Hibiscus Pastry, then revealed that Lan Jiming had fabricated a story about Lan Yangyu serving someone with his charms and climbing into Kan Ruifeng’s bed.

Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts sparked rumors about Kan Ruifeng and Lan Yangyu, then revealed that Lan Jiming’s apparent romantic encounter was part of a scheme by the Revenge Alliance. The ministers learned that the alliance’s women were gathering evidence against corrupt officials and resolved to improve themselves.

• Jiang Yingcheng imagined that Kan Ruifeng and Lan Yangyu shared a forbidden romance, leaving both men bewildered and the ministers struggling not to laugh.
• Jiang Yingcheng praised Yu Ke for uncovering Lan Jiming’s secret contact with a spy and turned her attention to his romantic entanglement.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized that Lan Jiming’s staged rescue by a swordswoman was part of a carefully planned surveillance scheme.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that the women behind the scheme belonged to the Revenge Alliance, which sought evidence to overturn wrongful cases and expose corrupt officials.
• The ministers were moved by the alliance’s efforts, and the official who had been stalling concluded that they must strive to better themselves.

Jiang Yi'an endured a grueling Morning Court and luncheon before Jiang Yingcheng cornered him into promising handmade gifts. The chapter ended with Jiang Yingcheng bringing all her siblings to watch him carve, while he stared at her in stunned resignation.

• Jiang Yi'an tried to shorten Morning Court, but Jiang Yanchuan kept the session going and Chu Jiaxu stepped forward to report a matter despite Jiang Yingcheng's teasing.
• Jiang Yanchuan invited the officials to lunch in Cloudbrook Hall, where the banquet performances delayed the meal until the dishes arrived fresh from the stove.
• Jiang Yi'an left the hall during the banquet, and Liaochen and his companions followed him at Jiang Yanchuan's signal; only Jiang Yi'an returned.
• Jiang Yingcheng and several of her brothers demanded greeting gifts from Jiang Yi'an, who agreed to carve each of them a cute animal.
• Jiang Yingcheng returned with a long line of siblings to share in the carving, leaving Jiang Yi'an frozen with his knife raised.

Tian Heng tried to deliver Prince Jing’s message but was repeatedly mistaken for a wanted man and nearly caught by a gang. He finally returned to the palace, where Prince Jing remained surrounded by the Little Highnesses.

• Tian Heng bribed the palace guards and hurried toward Prince Jing’s Residence while Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang followed Eunuch Changshun and Wu Leyong and Yu Xingmian went to conduct reconnaissance.
• Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang mistook Tian Heng for Qiao Ding, captured him, and took him to an empty courtyard before realizing their error and letting him go.
• Tian Heng found a man he believed was Bianzhou, passed on Prince Jing’s warning about the brothers heading for Mengzhou, and lost the jade pendant when the man fled from a gang.
• Tian Heng escaped the gang and returned to the palace, where he heard the Little Princess urging the Little Highnesses to crowd around Prince Jing so he could not get away.

Jiang Yingcheng turned Jiang Yi'an’s offer to carve more wooden figures into a way to make him keep working, rallying her siblings to demand toys of their own. Jiang Yi'an’s wooden horse broke as the lively crowd pressed him for more carvings.

• Jiang Yanxia offered Jiang Yingcheng her wooden rabbit, but Jiang Qiuyu tried to stop her and was blamed when Jiang Yingcheng misunderstood his gesture.
• Jiang Yingcheng threatened to complain to her imperial father, then returned after Jiang Qiuyu coaxed her with promises.
• Jiang Yi'an offered to carve another figure for Jiang Yingcheng, and she demanded rabbits, deer, sheep, fish, and more instead of choosing one.
• Jiang Yingcheng urged her siblings to ask Jiang Yi'an for carvings, and the children joined in until the hall grew lively.
• Jiang Yi'an watched the children’s demands as the tail of the wooden horse in his hand snapped off.

Wu Leyong delivered information to Prince Jing’s Residence while Lu Yao prepared him to join the operation in Mengzhou. At the palace banquet, Jiang Yingcheng tried to keep Jiang Yi'an drinking and head toward Prince Jing, but her teacher Miao Xinrong caught her for skipping lessons and planned to lodge an imperial complaint.

• Wu Leyong passed Tian Heng’s information to Bianzhou, who sent men after the subordinates that had left the previous night.
• Wu Leyong met Lu Yao, received disguise materials and Embroidered Uniform Guard waist tokens, and promised to hand the tokens to Zhong Chengwang.
• Court officials took turns toasting Jiang Yi'an, while Jiang Yingcheng hoped they would keep him drunk in the palace through the night.
• Jiang Yingcheng gathered the young princes and princesses and led them toward Prince Jing, but Miao Xinrong stopped the group.
• Jiang Yingcheng remembered that Miao Xinrong was her teacher, and he confronted her about skipping Academy lessons and decided to lodge an imperial complaint.

At court, Miao Xinrong confronted Jiang Yingcheng over skipping lessons and asked Emperor Mingze to uphold justice. Jiang Yingcheng considered selling officials’ secrets to Grandpa Guan Xi, and although Lei Zhixin defended her, she also recalled an embarrassing story about him.

• Miao Xinrong brought Jiang Yingcheng before Jiang Yanchuan and complained that she skipped more Academy lessons than she attended.
• Jiang Yingcheng hid behind Jiang Xingran while the officials watched, and she silently threatened to sell their secrets to Grandpa Guan Xi.
• Lei Zhixin defended Jiang Yingcheng by saying she worked on her assignments in court, though Miao Xinrong rejected his claim.
• Jiang Yingcheng decided not to sell Lei Zhixin’s secret, then revealed in her thoughts that Grandpa Guan Xi had once disguised himself as a woman to enter the Women's Academy and been thrown out.

Miao Xinrong lectured Emperor Mingze about the Little Princess’s studies while Jiang Yingcheng exposed Ran Hongyi’s humiliating efforts to secure river-repair funding and his lies about Jiao Hongmiao. After Miao Xinrong finished, Ran Hongyi objected just as Jiang Yingcheng began revealing another secret about Uncle Jiao.

• Lei Zhixin gave up arguing with Miao Xinrong and retreated as Miao continued urging Emperor Mingze to make the Little Princess diligent in her studies.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Ran Hongyi had worked for free at Jiao Hongmiao’s residence for a month to secure more funding for river repairs.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed how Ran Hongyi invented stories about Jiao Hongmiao’s supposed lady friends, which Jiao Hongmiao’s wife believed after one detail coincidentally matched a real theft.
• Jiao Hongmiao realized Ran Hongyi had caused his wife to distrust him and silently vowed to fight him, while Ran Hongyi felt unfairly blamed for his efforts.
• Ran Hongyi shouted that he objected as Miao Xinrong finished speaking, while Jiang Yingcheng began reacting to another revelation about Jiao Hongmiao.

Jiao Hongmiao and the court officials defended Jiang Yingcheng’s diligence after Miao Xinrong challenged their claims. Miao Xinrong tested her with a stack of questions, and she read aloud a surprising accusation about Xing Junchu and Kou Qiwen.

• Ran Hongyi tried to respond to Miao Xinrong, but Jiao Hongmiao interrupted to praise Jiang Yingcheng’s character and studies.
• Jiao Hongmiao claimed Jiang Yingcheng studied tirelessly, and she backed him up by insisting she had worked so hard that she had lost weight.
• After Jiao Hongmiao and Ran Hongyi remarked that Jiang Yingcheng looked rounder, the officials hurriedly testified that she was diligent, and she forgave them.
• Miao Xinrong, now less drunk, pulled out a disciplinary ruler and a thick stack of prepared questions to test Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng took the Xuan paper, read its contents, and announced that Xing Junchu had looked at Kou Qiwen over a dozen times during the banquet and was suspected of harboring ulterior motives.

At Cloudbrook Hall, Jiang Yingcheng’s gossip about the Kou brothers and Prince Jing sent the officials into a frenzy, while Miao Xinrong desperately stopped her from reading aloud. Her thoughts then turned to Noble Consort Rou’s alleged secret rendezvous, leaving an official sprawled on the floor.

• Miao Xinrong snatched the Xuan paper from Jiang Yingcheng and begged her to believe he had been diligent in his studies.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Kou Xingyan had impersonated Kou Qiwen at a brothel, where Kou Qiwen caught him with a woman who called him “my darling Wen.”
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Kou Qiwen had been headed to the Heavenly Fragrance House for a secret rendezvous with Prince Jing, but her actions disrupted the meeting.
• Jiang Yingcheng planned to keep hiring people to interfere with Kou Qiwen and Prince Jing’s arrangements, which she believed were part of a plot against the New Year’s Banquet.
• Jiang Yingcheng wondered whether her hired people had spread a rumor about Noble Consort Rou meeting Prince Jing, and an official collapsed as she said it.

At a palace banquet, Jiang Yingcheng accidentally exposed Prince Jing’s visit to the Heavenly Fragrance House and then used a tearful accusation to turn the Empress Dowager against him. She left the officials eager to hear more about Prince Jing and Noble Consort Rou.

• The officials gave up expecting gossip about Noble Consort Rou when Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that Xing Junchu was investigating Kou Qiwen and Prince Jing’s secret collusion.
• Kou Qiwen challenged Xing Junchu, who said he was curious about the “real and fake Kou Qiwen” incident on Hundred Flowers Street.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Prince Jing had also been at the Heavenly Fragrance House, prompting Jiang Yi'an to explain that he had gone there because he lacked a place to stay.
• The Empress Dowager advised Jiang Yi'an to come to the palace if he faced similar difficulties again.
• Jiang Yingcheng pinched her arm until it reddened, then accused Prince Jing of having his men beat her and trying to kill her.
• Jiang Yingcheng complained that Prince Jing had been gentle with Noble Consort Rou but mean to her, leaving the officials eager for more gossip.

Jiang Yingcheng used the Empress Dowager’s offer of compensation to make Jiang Yi'an tell her bedtime stories all night, while secretly making sure he could not tell when she fell asleep. Later, Zhang Yuke returned to her residence and found Jiang Yingcheng and her companions already at home, leaving her baffled about whose house it was.

• Jiang Yi'an explained that he had not known Jiang Yingcheng was the Eleventh Princess when he teased her, while ministers criticized his conduct in Mengzhou.
• Jiang Yanchuan stopped the ministers from pressing Jiang Yi'an further and offered to have him compensate Jiang Yingcheng for frightening her.
• Jiang Yingcheng chose to have Jiang Yi'an tell her bedtime stories, and System Bro used a recording to make her insist she was not sleepy until Jiang Yi'an discovered she was asleep.
• Zhang Yuke returned with breakfast and heard Lian Qing laughing with Jiang Yingcheng inside the residence.
• Zhang Yuke entered and found Jiang Yingcheng building a snowman with Lian Qing, while the others greeted her as if she were the visitor.

Jiang Yingcheng brought Zhang Yuke evidence connecting the crimes against the Qiao family to those responsible and promised that more evidence was being gathered. Zhang Yuke revealed her identity as Qiao Zhimiao and thanked the Little Princess, who then asked whether she wanted to go to the Grievance Drum Court.

• At breakfast, Zhang Yuke questioned why Jiang Yingcheng had come, then took her aside after the meal to hear the reason.
• Jiang Yingcheng gave Zhang Yuke a stack of papers documenting crimes against her family and said the evidence could secure a conviction.
• Jiang Yingcheng explained that Lian Qing had been given the locations of physical evidence and witnesses, and that Uncle Lu Yao would uncover more evidence.
• Zhang Yuke wept, identified herself as Qiao Zhimiao, and thanked Jiang Yingcheng on behalf of the Qiao family and the people in the courtyard.
• Jiang Yingcheng said she had arranged for the Grievance Drum Court to go easy on the twenty strokes of the paddle and asked whether Zhang Yuke wanted to go.

Qiao Zhimiao brought evidence to court accusing Yu Anlan of framing her father, Chancellor Qiao, for treason, while Jiang Yingcheng watched from behind the screen and secretly guided events. As Emperor Mingze examined the evidence, Yu Anlan panicked and looked toward Pan Jifeng, drawing the court’s attention to their connection.

• The courtyard group staged Qiao Zhimiao’s paddle punishment with chicken blood so she appeared seriously injured.
• Qiao Zhimiao entered Chongyun Hall and presented evidence accusing Yu Anlan of framing her father for treason twenty years earlier.
• Yu Anlan denied the accusation and claimed he could never betray Chancellor Qiao, but the officials noticed his hands shaking as Emperor Mingze examined the evidence.
• Yu Anlan repeatedly looked toward Pan Jifeng, and Jiang Yingcheng called on her system to investigate what connected them.
• Emperor Mingze raised his head and addressed Yu Anlan in a dark voice.

Yu Anlan faced accusations of helping orchestrate the Qiao family massacre, but he dismissed the letters and challenged the witnesses until Qiao Zhimiao revealed an envelope bearing his distinctive fingerprint. Lu Yao stopped him from destroying the evidence and took him to the Eastern Depot, while Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts exposed a possible misunderstanding about who had supplied the evidence.

• Yu Anlan recognized the letters as his old correspondence with an accomplice but claimed they could be forgeries.
• Qiao Zhimiao summoned surviving Qiao Residence servants, who testified that Yu Anlan supplied poison and arranged the midnight attack and fire.
• Yu Anlan challenged the witnesses, but Qiao Zhimiao pointed out his scarred fingerprint on the envelope.
• Lu Yao stopped Yu Anlan from tearing up the envelope, and Liaochen restrained him before Lu Yao took him to the Eastern Depot.
• Qiao Zhimiao thanked Lu Yao for providing the evidence, and Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that she had not expected Uncle Lu to know about Auntie Yu Ke’s involvement.

After Jiang Yingcheng exposed Pan Jifeng’s scheme to frame Consort Yan and reclaim the Fourth Prince for Noble Consort Rou, she used the Merit Shop to target him with Truth Serum. Pan Jifeng involuntarily stepped forward and announced that he had a memorial to present.

• Qiao Zhimiao thanked Jiang Yanchuan for clearing her family’s name, and he promised to publicize the truth and fund the rebuilding of the Qiao Residence.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Pan Jifeng and his ally planned to fabricate evidence that Consort Yan was having an affair so they could take the Fourth Prince from her.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized Pan Jifeng likely knew how Yu Anlan had framed Chancellor Qiao and decided to use her Merit Points against him.
• Jiang Yingcheng redeemed Single-Use Truth Serum and targeted Pan Jifeng.
• Pan Jifeng stiffened, stepped out of the ranks, and loudly announced that he had a memorial to present.

Pan Jifeng asked Jiang Yanchuan to clear Noble Consort Rou’s name, but Jiang Yanchuan ordered the full truth about her confinement published instead. Cornered, Pan Jifeng finally revealed that he wanted the Fourth Imperial Prince returned to Noble Consort Rou.

• Pan Jifeng claimed rumors about Noble Consort Rou were damaging her reputation and asked Jiang Yanchuan to intervene.
• Pan Jifeng proposed a decree saying the Little Highness had begged Noble Consort Rou to take her to the Heavenly Fragrance House, hoping to win favor for the Pan Family.
• Jiang Yingcheng identified the officials supporting Pan Jifeng and decided to record them as targets for her gossip business, while Jiao Hongmiao encouraged the Pan faction to say more.
• Jiang Yanchuan ordered the Grand Astrologer to publish the full truth about Noble Consort Rou’s confinement and its end, prompting Pan Jifeng to beg him to rescind the decree.
• Jiang Yanchuan demanded to know what Pan Jifeng truly wanted, and Pan Jifeng asked to have the Fourth Imperial Prince returned to Noble Consort Rou.

Pan Jifeng pleaded with Jiang Yanchuan to let Noble Consort Rou and Jiang Huai'an attend the New Year's Banquet, while the ministers mocked his claims that Noble Consort Rou was suffering. When officials asked for leniency for Jiang Huai'an, Jiang Yingcheng revealed that he lived comfortably in confinement but had bullied Jiang Qiuyu, leaving the ministers furious with Pan Jifeng.

• Jiang Yanchuan asked Pan Jifeng which of Noble Consort Rou and Jiang Huai'an he would choose to attend the New Year's Banquet, and Pan Jifeng pleaded for both to go.
• The ministers mocked Pan Jifeng's claim that Noble Consort Rou had lost her appetite, while Jiang Yingcheng privately exposed her recent indulgent behavior.
• Xian Xueming and Ling Chengshuang asked Jiang Yanchuan to show leniency toward Jiang Huai'an and release him from confinement.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Jiang Huai'an was enjoying his confinement and had bullied Jiang Qiuyu, and she wished she could get even for him.
• The ministers turned their condemning looks toward Pan Jifeng after hearing Jiang Yingcheng's revelations.

Jiang Yingcheng persuaded Jiang Yanchuan to release Jiang Huai'an from house arrest, then went with Lu Yao and Liaochen to the Inner Palace Bureau to find the fake eunuch she had mentioned. The chapter ended with her recognizing someone there and reacting in shock.

• Jiang Yanchuan lifted Jiang Huai'an's house arrest but required him to remain in Consort Yan's Fengjin Hall, and Jiang Yingcheng thanked her father with pastries and a leg massage.
• Jiang Yingcheng searched for Lu Yao after court, shared out pastries with him and Liaochen, and startled Lu Yao by thinking he would set off on his final journey.
• Jiang Yingcheng told Lu Yao a fabricated story about a burly eunuch knocking her down, and Lu Yao realized she was trying to identify the fake eunuch.
• Jiang Yingcheng, Lu Yao, and Liaochen went to the Inner Palace Bureau, where Jiang Yingcheng recognized someone and cried out in shock.