Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yingcheng uncovered that Xu Suxue would poison the Crown Prince and frame Aunties Xinyan, while Jiang Yuexi memorized the date so she could prevent the tragedy. When the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom proposed a marriage alliance, Jiang Tinghuai unexpectedly agreed to marry Xu Suxue as the Crown Prince’s secondary consort.

• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Xu Suxue would poison the Crown Prince and cause Aunties Xinyan’s death on the fifth day of Lotus Month in Tianqi’s thirteenth year.
• Jiang Yuexi memorized the date and resolved to change Aunties Xinyan’s fate.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Yuan Liangping’s secret savings, and Wei Dairong confronted him about them.
• The Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom asked Emperor Mingze to approve a marriage alliance between Xu Suxue and the Crown Prince.
• Jiang Tinghuai declared that he was willing to marry Xu Suxue, shocking the court and Jiang Yingcheng.

Jiang Tinghuai agreed to Zhujin Kingdom’s marriage proposal, but Jiang Yanchuan rejected it and claimed he had already chosen a crown princess. Jiang Yingcheng discovered that the intended bride was Tan Zhining, who already loved Wang Bingxu, leaving Tan Wenhan glaring at Duke Wang.

• Jiang Tinghuai supported a marriage alliance with Zhujin Kingdom, but Jiang Yanchuan refused the proposal and said he and the Empress had chosen a crown princess.
• Jiang Yingcheng praised Jiang Yanchuan, then searched the information panel and discovered that the chosen crown princess was Tan Zhining.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Tan Zhining did not want to marry Jiang Tinghuai and already loved someone, shocking the officials and Tan Wenhan.
• Jiang Yingcheng identified Tan Zhining’s love as Wang Bingxu, and Tan Wenhan turned angrily toward Duke Wang.

Duke Wang struggled to answer Tan Wenhan’s anger over Wang Bingxu and Tan Zhining’s secret romance, while Jiang Yingcheng’s inner voice revealed their tragic future. Sheng Wenli then asked Jiang Yanchuan for a marriage alliance between Changlan and Great Rui, though he accidentally named Zhujin first.

• Duke Wang tried to explain Wang Bingxu’s gift and promises to Tan Zhining as Tan Wenhan grew increasingly furious.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s inner voice revealed that Tan Zhining would be married into the East Palace, pine for Wang Bingxu, and die heartbroken after he married someone else.
• Jiang Yuexi distracted Jiang Yingcheng with food, but the little one continued her gossip until Sheng Wenli stood to address Jiang Yanchuan.
• Sheng Wenli said Sheng Shixu had set his heart on the Little Princess and asked for a marriage alliance, accidentally naming Zhujin before correcting himself to Changlan.
• Jiang Yingcheng wondered whether Brother Shixu was getting married so soon.

Sheng Wenli pressed Jiang Yanchuan to agree to a childhood betrothal between Sheng Shixu and Jiang Yingcheng, but Jiang Yanchuan repeatedly refused. Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts then revealed that she was a fake princess, shocking the court, before she noticed Shao Xuan appearing in disguise.

• Sheng Wenli proposed a marriage alliance between Sheng Shixu and one of Jiang Yanchuan’s daughters, but Jiang Yanchuan refused each time.
• Sheng Wenli finally demanded to know what it would take for Jiang Yanchuan to accept a childhood betrothal between Sheng Shixu and Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized the proposal concerned her and thought that she would stay in Great Rui because she was happy there.
• Jiang Yingcheng thought that she was a fake princess, leaving the officials stunned and Fang Siwan frightened that the secret had been exposed.
• Jiang Yingcheng exclaimed that Shao Xuan had appeared in disguise, and the officials eagerly looked for the assassin.

Jiang Yingcheng’s warning exposed Shao Xuan’s attempt to poison the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom, and Great Rui’s hidden guards subdued the assassin before he could act. The Ruler demanded an explanation as Jiang Yanchuan held Chengcheng and she revealed what she had seen.

• Jiang Yingcheng realized Shao Xuan was approaching the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom with poison hidden beneath his fingernails, and the officials discreetly prepared to intervene.
• Jiang Yingcheng ran toward Qiao Yunbai, alarming Jiang Yuexi, Noble Consort Qing, Kan Ruifeng, and the officials who feared for her safety.
• Shao Xuan replaced the ruler’s wine and moved to pour another cup, but Jiang Yingcheng cried out as an expert dropped from the rafters and pinned him down.
• A second guard kicked Shao Xuan’s pressure points, while the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom shielded Xu Suxue and demanded an explanation.
• Jiang Yanchuan gathered Jiang Yingcheng into his arms, and she told the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom that Shao Xuan had put his finger into his wine vessel.

Jiang Yanchuan revealed that he had received advance warning of an assassin in the palace, while Lu Yao and the rulers covertly identified a black mole on the Ruler of Danxia as a clue. Lu Yao loudly exposed the Ruler of Qiguang’s secret observation, leaving him stunned.

• Jiang Yanchuan explained that a mysterious letter had warned him an enemy assassin planned to poison a ruler, and he ordered Lu Yao to interrogate Shao Xuan within two days.
• Lu Yao stumbled into the Ruler of Danxia and tore open his collar, revealing a black mole on his neck.
• The Ruler of Qiguang told Lu Yao that he and the Ruler of Yanyang recognized the mole from a suspicious man they had seen on Jiangyang Street.
• Lu Yao loudly asked whether the Ruler of Qiguang was certain he had seen the Ruler of Danxia disguised as a woman, startling him.

At the gathering, the Ruler of Qiguang revealed that the Ruler of Danxia had visited a courtyard where Jiang Yingcheng and several rulers saw him disguised as a woman. The Ruler of Danxia admitted hiring a woman from the Heavenly Fragrance House, and Jiang Yingcheng realized how to connect him to the disguise.

• The Ruler of Danxia panicked when the Ruler of Qiguang began describing their visit to the courtyard on Jiangyang Street.
• The Ruler of Qiguang recounted that Jiang Yingcheng had visited the neighboring house and that its master had a distinctive black mole like the Ruler of Danxia's.
• The Ruler of Danxia admitted that the visitors had come to his courtyard and apologized for failing to receive them.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked why the woman who had accompanied the Ruler of Danxia was absent, prompting him to admit he had hired her from the Heavenly Fragrance House.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized she could use the admission to connect Shao Xuan to the woman from the courtyard.

Jiang Yingcheng’s plan to expose Shao Xuan’s disguise led Lu Yao to reveal a Jade Pendant linked to the rulers’ visit to a Small Courtyard. The rulers scrubbed Shao Xuan’s face clean, exposing his true appearance and prompting the Ruler of the Jianggu Kingdom to point out his Adam’s apple.

• Jiang Yingcheng remembered that Lu Yao had the Jade Pendant, and Lu Yao secretly hooked it onto Shao Xuan’s cuff.
• Lu Yao dropped Shao Xuan onto the floor, dislodging the Jade Pendant, then asked the assembled officials to appraise it.
• The Rulers of Qiguang, Yanyang, and the Jianggu Kingdom recognized the Jade Pendant as belonging to the girl they had seen in the Small Courtyard on Jiangyang Street.
• The Rulers of Danxia and Shao Xuan panicked as the three rulers scrutinized Shao Xuan’s face.
• The Ruler of the Jianggu Kingdom scrubbed Shao Xuan’s face with a wet handkerchief, revealing his features, then pointed out his Adam’s apple.

Jiang Yanchuan exposed the assassin Shao Xuan and maneuvered the Ruler of Zhujin Kingdom into handing the case to Great Rui. Just as Jiang Yingcheng realized the Crown Prince was in danger, she urgently needed to use the privy.

• Jiang Yanchuan inspected the Jade Pendant, and the Ruler of Qiguang identified Shao Xuan as the disguised woman he had seen at the Heavenly Fragrance House.
• Ye Lan lost his composure when he realized Shao Xuan’s disguise could not explain how he had supposedly been summoned as a girl.
• Jiang Yanchuan offered to pursue justice for Xu Mingxian, and Xu Mingxian yielded the matter to Great Rui after suspecting he had been drawn into a trap.
• Jiang Yingcheng praised Xu Mingxian for being generous, then abruptly squirmed in Jiang Yanchuan’s arms and thought that the Crown Prince was in danger.

Jiang Yingcheng raced to protect Jiang Tinghuai from Kou Qiwen, but the Ruler of Danxia seized Qiao Yunbai and held him hostage. Chengcheng abandoned her attempt to reach her Crown Prince Brother and ran to rescue Qiao Yunbai as the Ruler of Danxia suddenly screamed.

• Jiang Yanchuan set Jiang Yingcheng down, and she hurried toward Jiang Tinghuai while Kan Nianzhen and Kan Ruifeng stayed back to avoid alerting Kou Qiwen.
• The Ruler of Danxia grabbed Qiao Yunbai and threatened to kill him unless Jiang Yanchuan arranged his escape from the city.
• The Ruler of Danxia discovered that his consort and Imperial Prince had also been taken captive, but he pressed his blade closer to Qiao Yunbai's neck.
• Jiang Yingcheng heard Qiao Yunbai was in danger, abandoned her attempt to reach Jiang Tinghuai, and ran toward him.
• The Ruler of Danxia suddenly screamed before Jiang Yingcheng could finish wondering whether Qiao Yunbai had brought his Hidden Weapon Cases.

Qiao Yunbai used Jiang Yingcheng’s hidden weapon to attack the Ruler of Danxia, then Jiang Yingcheng rushed to warn Jiang Tinghuai about Kou Qiwen. Kou Qiwen staged a fall beside them and dislocated his own bone while making Jiang Tinghuai’s Sachet drop.

• Qiao Yunbai shot the Ruler of Danxia with over a hundred Poison Needles and claimed they were coated in a deadly poison.
• Jiang Yingcheng praised Qiao Yunbai’s story and wished the System Shop could make the poison take effect in three days instead of seven.
• The Imperial Guards escorted the people involved away, and Lu Yao silenced their sobbing by striking their mute acupoints.
• Jiang Yingcheng ran to Jiang Tinghuai, who picked her up and tried to distract Kou Qiwen while watching him approach.
• Kou Qiwen staged a fall beside Jiang Tinghuai, causing his Sachet to drop and dislocating a bone in the process.

Kou Qiwen tried to replace Jiang Tinghuai’s sachet with one containing a hidden poison, but Jiang Yingcheng spotted the switch and called him out. Jiang Tinghuai intercepted the sachet and opened it while Kan Ruifeng kept Jiang Yingcheng at a safe distance.

• Kou Qiwen lay on the floor in pain while officials gathered around Jiang Tinghuai and Jiang Yingcheng instead of helping him.
• Jiang Yingcheng told the officials that Kou Qiwen had crashed into them, drawing reproachful looks toward him.
• Kou Qiwen admitted his improper behavior, then struggled to his feet as his colleagues avoided helping him.
• Jiang Yingcheng said she had seen Kou Qiwen switch two sachets and demanded that he hand over Jiang Tinghuai’s sachet.
• Kou Qiwen approached Jiang Yingcheng with the replacement sachet, which contained snow toad incense mixed with aromatics.
• Jiang Tinghuai took the sachet from Kou Qiwen, passed Jiang Yingcheng to Kan Ruifeng, and poured the sachet’s contents into his palm for her to inspect.

Jiang Yingcheng accused Kou Qiwen of stealing three Gold Beans from the sachet she had given Jiang Tinghuai, while the ministers joined in condemning him. As Kou Qiwen denied the charge, someone secretly planted the Gold Beans in his hidden pocket sachet, leaving him immobilized and unable to speak.

• Jiang Yingcheng demanded to know where the three Gold Beans she had put in Jiang Tinghuai’s sachet had gone.
• Kou Qiwen denied knowing what happened to the Gold Beans, and Hu Hongyuan, Gao Siyuan, Lei Zhixin, and Jiao Hongmiao mocked him before the ministers joined in.
• Jiang Tinghuai backed Jiang Yingcheng’s claim, and Kou Qiwen argued that they should not make a scene over three Gold Beans that might not exist.
• Jiang Yingcheng reassured Kou Qiwen that they would not make a scene, but he felt a sharp pain and found himself unable to move or speak.
• An unseen figure took the sachet from Kou Qiwen’s hidden pocket and slipped three Gold Beans inside before carrying it toward Jiang Tinghuai.

Jiang Yingcheng framed Kou Qiwen with planted Gold Beans and mocked him as he was taken toward prison. After the New Year's Banquet, Duke Wang asked Emperor Mingze to let him retire and take the Eleventh Princess with him.

• Zhong Chengwang planted Gold Beans in Kou Qiwen's Sachet, and Jiang Yingcheng used the matching Sachets to accuse him of theft.
• Jiang Yingcheng gave Zhong Chengwang another purse while Kou Qiwen grew furious and teary at the false accusation.
• Jiang Yanchuan saw the Changlan ruler and the officials off after the New Year's Banquet ended.
• Duke Wang went to the imperial study and requested permission to retire to his hometown with the Eleventh Princess.
• Emperor Mingze answered that he understood, leaving Duke Wang hopeful as he noticed his colleagues' uneasy expressions.

Jiang Yanchuan confronted the consorts and officials who had concealed Chengcheng’s revelation that she was not a real princess, while Lu Yao presented a record of cases solved with her thoughts. As the gathered officials braced for punishment, Jiang Yanchuan revealed a portrait of the little one’s birth mother.

• Lu Yao arrived in the imperial study, knelt before Jiang Yanchuan, and presented a booklet documenting cases solved with the little one’s thoughts.
• Jiang Yanchuan questioned Kan Nianzhen, Noble Consort Qing, and Consort Xuan about their excuses for concealing the Fake Princess matter.
• The officials stayed silent when Jiang Yanchuan asked whether they had anything to add, and he noticed that they had gathered to protect the little one.
• Eunuch Changshun unfurled a portrait that the court recognized as depicting the little one’s birth mother.

Jiang Yanchuan revealed that Fang Yiwan, mistress of the Lin Residence, had no intention of taking the little one back and could pose a serious danger. The officials set aside their plans to resign and competed for permission to live near the Lin Residence and keep watch, leaving Jiang Yanchuan to make the final decision.

• Tan Wenhan began to offer his resignation, but Jiang Yanchuan asked why he had held the little one at the New Year's Banquet, leaving the officials confused about his concern for her.
• Jiang Yanchuan told the officials that Fang Yiwan was the Lin Residence's mistress, had no intention of taking the little one back, and might bring about a great calamity if left unchecked.
• Tan Wenhan changed his request and proposed moving near the Lin Residence, and Jiang Yanchuan granted permission.
• Duke Wang and other officials argued that they should also move nearby, citing their resources and ability to watch the Lin Residence without arousing suspicion.
• Lu Yao promoted the Embroidered Uniform Guard's surveillance skills as officials competed for the limited nearby residences, and Jiang Yanchuan gestured to Eunuch Changshun to make the final decision.

Jiang Yanchuan showed the officials his plan to monitor Fang Yiwan by purchasing residences around the Lin Residence, and the ministers responded by offering their valuables to support the Little Highness. Eunuch Changshun then received urgent news that left him shocked.

• Jiang Yanchuan revealed that he had bought or was negotiating for residences around the Lin Residence to monitor Fang Yiwan and protect the Little Highness.
• The officials were astonished by the number and cost of the properties, and Lei Zhixin bluntly asked whether Jiang Yanchuan was so wealthy.
• Jiang Yanchuan said he had only acquired the money a few days earlier, recalling the gold and silver hidden beneath the Cold Palace.
• Lei Zhixin offered his purse, prompting the officials and Empress Kan Nianzhen to add their valuables to a pile on Jiang Yanchuan's desk.
• A palace attendant hurried in with urgent news, and Eunuch Changshun reacted with a shocked exclamation.

Jiang Yanchuan hurried to find Jiang Yingcheng after she left Xianyang Palace to bring him a pillow and help with state affairs. He carried her back and promised to take her to Jiangnan once the palace preparations were complete.

• A Shadow Guard told Jiang Yanchuan that Jiang Yingcheng had left Xianyang Palace with a pillow, intending to join him in the Imperial Study.
• Jiang Yanchuan found Jiang Yingcheng frightened by the dark, gathered her into his arms, and wrapped her in a padded jacket.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked whether she could keep staying in Xianyang Palace, and Jiang Yanchuan assured her she could.
• Jiang Yingcheng hinted that she had prepared a New Year's Day gift, and Jiang Yanchuan recognized it as the lucky money she had collected herself.
• Jiang Yanchuan asked whether Jiang Yingcheng wanted to go out and play, then promised to take her to Jiangnan after he arranged matters in the palace.

As Jiang Yanchuan prepared to take Jiang Yingcheng to Jiangnan, ministers competed fiercely for places on the incognito trip. The chapter ended with the remaining officials still battling for the dwindling spots.

• Jiang Yanchuan bought up the residences around the Lin Residence and stationed ministers and Shadow Guards nearby, prompting them to realize that Lin Jinshu was Jiang Yingcheng’s birth mother.
• Jiang Yanchuan began selecting ministers for the Jiangnan trip, and Lu Yao maneuvered to keep Tan Wenhan and Kan Ruifeng behind as regents for the Crown Prince.
• Lei Zhixin won a place by offering to look after Jiang Yingcheng and play with her while Jiang Yanchuan handled official business.
• Chu Dong secured a place by proposing to investigate a praised local official, and Duke Wang persuaded Jiang Yanchuan to take him along by appealing to his age.
• The remaining ministers traded embarrassing claims about one another as they fought for the last places, while Jiang Yingcheng watched excitedly.

Jiang Yanchuan named the officials who would join the disguised merchant caravan, while Jiang Yingcheng watched the court officials quarrel over their lost vacation. The party set out for the south with hidden weapons and pastries, then reached Qu Chun, where the innkeeper came face-to-face with Emperor Mingze.

• Jiang Yanchuan selected more than twenty officials, including Yuan Liangping, Liu Hongfei, Zhuang Xuyao, and Pan Jifeng, for the merchant caravan.
• Jiang Yingcheng persuaded Jiang Yanchuan to let her watch the officials argue, then shared cookies with him as they quarreled.
• Jiang Yanchuan led the disguised caravan out through Shengping Gate before dawn, and Zhong Chengwang brought Jiang Yingcheng pastries.
• The caravan traveled for three days to Qu Chun, where Jiang Yanchuan ordered a day's rest because the officials' legs were sore from riding.
• The proprietor of Qu Chun's only open inn hurried out to greet the travelers and abruptly recognized Emperor Mingze.