Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yingcheng uncovered that the impostor Ao Qi was Xun Xing, who had murdered the real Ao Qi after being raised by his family. She also realized the treasure map had been sewn into a pouch Xun Xing discarded in a nearby cave, and Yu Xingmian exposed his forgetfulness in court.

• Jiao Hongmiao nearly accused the impostor Ao Qi of deceiving Emperor Mingze, but Lu Yao distracted him and covered for his outburst.
• Jiang Yingcheng read Xun Xing's history and learned that Ao Qi's family had taken him in after his parents died and his relatives seized his inheritance.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that Ao Qi had hidden a treasure map in a pouch he gave Xun Xing, who later discarded it in a nearby cave.
• Emperor Mingze and the officials became interested in finding the cave and its treasure, while Yu Xingmian decided Xun Xing could guide them.
• Yu Xingmian questioned Xun Xing about forgetting the family heirloom inside the pouch, and Xun Xing admitted that something was wrong with his brain.

Xun Xing reached the cave where he believed the Ao Family heirloom was hidden, but guards knocked him unconscious before he could enter. At the inn, Jiang Yingcheng eagerly welcomed Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang back, only for a bystander to discover the bodies they were carrying and panic.

• Xun Xing traveled through the winter night to the familiar cave, where guards following Emperor Mingze’s party put him to sleep with a needle.
• Jiang Yanchuan repeatedly called Jiang Yingcheng back from the inn doorway as she waited for Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang to return with her Treasure Map.
• Jiang Yingcheng ran out to greet Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang, who froze because they had not dealt with the corpse they were carrying.
• A man from the group at the abyss ran into the three of them, knocking their burdens to the ground and exposing Ao Qi and a skeleton beneath their wrappings.
• The man concluded that Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang were murdering people to steal their possessions and tried to flee as Pei Mingjie reached for him.
• A terrified scream rang out from the other side of the alley, leaving Pei Mingjie confused.

Pei Mingjie and the others helped Jiang Yingcheng reveal a treasure map and persuaded Yue Henqing to guide the group through its dangers. After traveling to Tuobi County, Jiang Yingcheng insisted on joining the expedition, and a smiling newcomer appeared as the group prepared to leave.

• Pei Mingjie realized the ministers were praising Yu Xingmian to help their group save face, and he joined in their act.
• Jiang Yingcheng examined the treasure map while Yu Xingmian warned that the treasure site held dangerous beasts, traps, and mystical arts.
• Pei Mingjie recognized Yue Henqing's skill in Qimen arts, and Yue Henqing offered to help explore the treasure site.
• The party left Xian Town and traveled for more than ten days to Tuobi County, following the map.
• Jiang Yingcheng clung to Jiang Yanchuan's leg and insisted on joining the mountain expedition, but Jiang Yanchuan refused.
• A smiling newcomer approached the group and asked whether they had come to Tuobi to hunt for treasure.

Ying Sinan explained how Tuobi County turned the treasures exposed by a landslide on Yuntong Mountain into a profitable attraction, then guided Jiang Yanchuan’s group there. The group reached a long entry queue, and Jiang Yanchuan sent Lu Yao to bring Ying Sinan back.

• Ying Sinan stopped the group and described the county magistrate’s plans to attract treasure hunters and profit from the landslide’s discoveries.
• Jiao Hongmiao decided that Ying Sinan belonged in the Ministry of Revenue, while Ying Sinan offered to guide the group on Yuntong Mountain.
• Jiang Yanchuan brought Jiang Yingcheng along, and she and Ying Sinan exchanged pastries and warmed to each other.
• Ying Sinan joined a seemingly endless queue at the mountain entrance, shocking the group.
• Jiang Yanchuan ordered Lu Yao to drag Ying Sinan back and explain why they had to queue to enter the mountain.

Jiang Yanchuan and the officials learned that the line to enter Yuntong Mountain would take six hours, so they paid Ying Sinan to find a way in sooner. Ying Sinan staged a plea for his supposedly dying elder, bribed the guard openly, and got the group admitted ahead of the queue.

• Ying Sinan told Jiang Yanchuan that the group would wait up to six hours to enter Yuntong Mountain.
• At the officials' urging, Ying Sinan accepted gold beads to arrange faster entry and went to the entrance.
• Ying Sinan clung to a guard's leg and claimed Eunuch Changshun was gravely ill and needed to visit the mountain.
• The guard and waiting townsfolk accepted Ying Sinan's plea, and Ying Sinan handed the guard several Gold Beans.
• Ying Sinan returned to Lu Yao and the group and announced that they could enter.

Jiang Yingcheng exposed Tuobi County’s elaborate scheme to profit from treasure hunters, then revealed that nearly all the treasures at the first site had been planted by locals. Ying Sinan tried to persuade her to hunt for treasure, and she agreed while deciding to teach him a lesson.

• Ying Sinan led the group past a paid queue-cutting arrangement and described Tuobi County’s attractions while Jiang Yingcheng studied the crowd.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized the people in the queue were paid stand-ins, and the officials understood how Tuobi County’s locals worked together to profit from visitors.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that only the first treasures found at the site were genuine and that locals had buried the later finds.
• Ying Sinan approached Jiang Yingcheng and invited her to hunt for treasure, and she accepted while secretly planning to teach him a lesson.

Jiang Yingcheng joined Ying Sinan on a treasure hunt and exposed each fake artifact he had buried. After Ying Sinan fled in distress, Jiang Yingcheng was pleased to have the chance to explore freely.

• Ying Sinan led Jiang Yingcheng to a mountain hollow and started a treasure-hunting game while court officials watched.
• Jiang Yingcheng identified Ying Sinan’s porcelain pot as a recent fake and revealed an apple core inside it.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed a cheap market vase and shattered it, uncovering a slip that listed its asking price and minimum price.
• Jiang Yingcheng snapped a damp clay figurine and showed Ying Sinan that it had only recently been made.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked Ying Sinan if he was crying, and he covered his face and ran away.
• Jiang Yingcheng was glad Ying Sinan had left so she could explore freely.

Jiang Yingcheng planned to escape the group but followed System Bro’s advice and continued toward the next treasure site with Ying Sinan leading the way. When System Bro warned that two groups ahead were about to fight, Jiang Yingcheng heard a challenge and stopped, tempted to watch.

• Jiang Yingcheng devised a plan to distract Emperor Mingze and flee, but System Bro mocked her short legs and promised another way.
• Ying Sinan returned and led the group toward another treasure burial site while keeping his distance from Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng considered new ways to make the uncles help her, and the court officials eagerly offered to cooperate when she mentioned saving points.
• System Bro marked a detour around two groups about to fight, but Jiang Yingcheng stopped when she heard someone issue a challenge.

Jiang Yingcheng persuaded Jiang Yanchuan to take her to watch a dispute between treasure hunters. After learning that Zhu had called a dug-up artifact fake and destroyed it, she decided he was right because he owned the genuine item and recognized the forgery.

• Jiang Yingcheng abandoned her plan to hurry onward and convinced Jiang Yanchuan to carry her toward the commotion.
• Jiang Yingcheng and the ministers found Zhu gripping Wen by the collar while the two men argued over a broken artifact.
• A spectator told Jiang Yingcheng that Wen believed the artifact was genuine, while Zhu had called it fake and destroyed it.
• Jiang Yingcheng gave the spectator wrapped candies and sided with Zhu after hearing the story.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized Zhu knew the artifact was fake because he owned the genuine one and had learned about treasures through years of tomb robbing.

The officials realized the man arguing with grave robber Zhu Gang was County Adviser Wen Ruxin, who was defending the authenticity of Tuobi County’s treasures. When Jiang Yingcheng noticed that County Magistrate Tuobi was Ying Minxing, the officials spotted their swindling guide Ying Sinan trying to flee and called him out.

• Zhu Gang threatened to cripple the man who insisted the treasures were genuine, but his companions restrained him.
• The man continued insisting the treasures were genuine, provoking Zhu Gang to try to attack him again.
• Jiang Yingcheng realized the man was County Adviser Wen Ruxin, who was protecting Tuobi County’s reputation.
• Jiang Yingcheng saw that County Magistrate Tuobi was Ying Minxing, and the officials spotted Ying Sinan attempting to slip away.
• Chu Jiaxu shouted for Ying Sinan to stop, and Wen Ruxin recognized him as his nephew.

Jiang Yingcheng used tears and a complaint to persuade Jiang Yanchuan to go after Zhu Gang and his tomb robbers, who left the scene. Ying Sinan thought the trouble was over, but the ministers feared his promise to Chengcheng would bring more trouble.

• Ying Sinan pretended not to know about the argument while Wen Ruxin welcomed the group and Chu Jiaxu asked about their connection.
• Jiang Yingcheng blurted out that Ying Sinan had been crying, so he silenced her and made a pinky promise before trying to smooth things over with Zhu Gang.
• Jiang Yingcheng accused Zhu Gang of grabbing Wen Ruxin and then claimed he had yelled at her, bringing tears to her eyes as she urged Jiang Yanchuan to arrest the tomb robbers.
• Jiang Yanchuan soothed Chengcheng and promised to get even for her, while Zhu Gang and his companions hurried away and Lu Yao followed them.
• Wen Ruxin punished Ying Sinan, who returned to thank the group, while the ministers worried that Chengcheng's pinky promise meant more trouble was coming.

Jiang Yingcheng led Jiang Yanchuan and the officials through a mountain formation to the hidden entrance of Master Yan Chao’s treasure site, then guided them back before they could enter. After memorizing her instructions for the site’s traps and layout, the officials set out at the third watch.

• Jiang Yingcheng directed Ying Sinan through the mountains, pretending to seek flowers and scenery while leading him toward the hidden hollow.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed in her thoughts that a formation concealed the hollow, and Jiang Yanchuan took her from Ying Sinan and asked whether anyone in Tuobi County knew of the place.
• Jiang Yingcheng pointed out the treasure-site entrance and told the officials in her thoughts to memorize it, while Jiang Yanchuan decided the group should leave until later.
• Jiang Yingcheng reviewed the treasure site’s layout, mechanisms, and traps on the way back, and the officials divided up and memorized her instructions.
• After the officials returned and transcribed their instructions, they set out after the third-watch clappers sounded.

Jiang Yanchuan led officials into Yuntong Mountain to reach the hidden chamber the Little Highness had identified, with Yue Henqing guiding them through its maze-like formation. A mechanism split the party in two with a falling stone wall, while Wen Ruxin and Ying Sinan decided to enter the chamber from the entrance.

• Jiang Yanchuan led the party through Yuntong Mountain and ordered them to detour around County Adviser Wen's men, who were secretly burying goods bought from Old Li.
• Yue Henqing guided Jiang Yanchuan and the officials through the mountain formation to the secret chamber's entrance.
• Jiao Hongmiao used his recorded knowledge to unlock the entrance mechanisms, and the party entered and disarmed hidden weapons without incident.
• A mechanism activated despite no one touching it, and Jiang Yanchuan ordered everyone to run as a stone wall crashed down and split the party in two.
• Wen Ruxin questioned whether the chamber held treasure, but Ying Sinan argued that its formations protected hidden treasure, so Wen Ruxin agreed to go inside.

Emperor Mingze and his companions were split by a stone wall while exploring the tomb, and the trapped groups continued onward separately. A rolling-ball trap and cries from another party suggested someone else was inside, while Wen Ruxin rushed toward the distant howling.

• Pan Jifeng found the stone wall had separated his group from Emperor Mingze and decided they should keep going with Yue Henqing.
• Jiao Hongmiao told Emperor Mingze that the wall had sealed off the other group, and Jiang Yanchuan ordered his party to proceed.
• Wen Ruxin scolded Ying Sinan for assuming the tomb held treasure despite having no traps, and Ying Sinan defended their decision to keep going.
• Emperor Mingze’s party fled an enormous rolling ball and suspected another party was inside the tomb after a trap was triggered unexpectedly.
• Ying Sinan’s party heard several people howling nearby, and Wen Ruxin hurried toward the noise, suspecting tomb robbers.

Jiang Yingcheng went to the county jail after Tan Songsong was caught sneaking out, where she found the officials imprisoned after being mistaken for tomb robbers. She refused to acknowledge them, leaving their release uncertain.

• Jiang Yingcheng cut Yuan Liangping's written pages into slips before a commotion outside her room interrupted her.
• A bailiff confronted Tan Songsong and ordered him to return, and Jiang Yingcheng came out to ask what was happening.
• Pan Jifeng and the other officials recalled being arrested after surviving the tomb's traps and running into Ying Sinan's group.
• A jailer led Jiang Yingcheng to the cell holding the officials, who panicked when they recognized her voice.
• Jiang Yingcheng told the jailer that she did not know the officials.

Jiang Yingcheng denied knowing the officials imprisoned for tomb-robbing, then accepted their candy and spent her Gold Beans to ransom them. Jiang Yanchuan arrived at the yamen and discovered she had deliberately left him off the ransom list.

• Jiang Yingcheng insisted she did not know the imprisoned officials, then asked when they would be executed for robbing a tomb.
• Chu Dong offered Jiang Yingcheng a milk candy, and the other officials followed; she took their candies and agreed to leave with the jailer.
• Jiang Yanchuan and his men emerged from the secret passage with valuable treasures, and a Shadow Guard urgently summoned him away.
• At the Tuobi Prefectural Yamen, Jiang Yingcheng counted Gold Beans to ransom the imprisoned officials while wishing Pan Jifeng and the others could stay locked up.
• The jailer told Jiang Yingcheng she had left one person off her ransom list, and Jiang Yanchuan watched as she realized she had omitted him.

Jiang Yingcheng reunited with Jiang Yanchuan and silently uncovered Ying Sinan’s role in the officials’ arrest and the loss of her Gold Beans. The officials turned against Ying Sinan, while Chengcheng’s discovery that he triggered tomb traps raised questions about why Jiang Yanchuan had suffered instead.

• Jiang Yingcheng called out to Jiang Yanchuan and the officials until Jiang Yanchuan turned around and picked her up.
• Jiang Yingcheng searched Ying Sinan’s secrets as he tried to slip away, and Lu Yao held him back with small talk.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that Ying Sinan had persuaded the County Adviser to lead the officials into the tomb and had swindled away her Gold Beans.
• The officials realized Ying Sinan had caused their arrest and began plotting against him.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Ying Sinan had triggered several traps in the tomb and wondered why Jiang Yanchuan had suffered instead.

Jiang Yingcheng revealed Ying Sinan’s childhood misdeeds in front of the officials, using praise from Yu Xingmian to draw out one embarrassing secret after another. Ying Sinan surrendered before she could expose more, then froze at a sharp crack behind him.

• The officials reacted to the deadly traps shown in the panel, then perked up when they heard Tuobi’s county magistrate was coming.
• Jiang Yingcheng told Ying Sinan that Yu Xingmian had praised his knowledge of mechanisms and wanted her to learn from him.
• Ying Sinan tried to leave after hearing Yu Xingmian knew him, but Jiang Yingcheng revealed he had secretly studied Qimen Dunjia Arts as a child.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Ying Sinan’s tricks for avoiding school and cheating on his homework, and he denied the accusations in panic.
• Jiang Yingcheng continued hinting that she had more secrets to reveal, so Ying Sinan surrendered before she could finish.
• A sharp crack sounded behind Ying Sinan, and he jolted before freezing in place.

Ying Minxing confronted his son Ying Sinan about his schemes, but Jiang Yingcheng revealed a long list of Ying Sinan’s childhood lies and misdeeds. The chapter ended with Ying Minxing furious and Ying Sinan begging Jiang Yingcheng to stop.

• Ying Minxing caught Ying Sinan trying to sneak away and punished him for threatening Xiang Yan, involving Duan Mo in a scheme, and intimidating someone in an alley.
• Ying Minxing introduced himself to Jiang Yanchuan as County Magistrate Tuobi and asked whether Cult Leader Yu had said anything else about Ying Sinan.
• Ying Sinan accused Jiang Yanchuan’s group of being behind the grave robbers, prompting Jiang Yingcheng to decide not to spare him.
• Jiang Yingcheng told Ying Minxing that Ying Sinan had skipped school to study Qimen Dunjia Arts and had pretended to attend the Academy.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Ying Sinan’s other lies, including trapping commoners in a mountain formation and using a ghostwriter for his assignments, while Ying Sinan begged her to stop.

Ying Minxing woke after fainting at Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts and hurried to find his family, misunderstanding the news that Ying Sinan had left. He found Ying Sinan with Chengcheng, whose tears over her missing Gold Beans led her to pitch a money-making plan.

• Ying Minxing fainted after hearing Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts about making money with him and Imperial Father.
• Wen Ruxin told Ying Minxing that Ying Sinan had left and planned to pass the family estate to his eldest son, prompting Ying Minxing to rush after him.
• Ying Minxing found Ying Sinan pinching Jiang Yingcheng’s cheek at the inn, but Wen Ruxin stopped him from barging in.
• Ying Sinan showed Jiang Yingcheng a bundle and demanded compensation, and she cried when she realized her saved Gold Beans were gone.
• Ying Sinan promised to give Jiang Yingcheng whatever she needed, and she stopped crying to propose a grand money-making plan to him and Grandpa Ying.