Chapter Summaries

Jiang Yanchuan’s forces turned the battle at Chongyun Hall against Jiang Silin’s rebels, while Zhu Qian cut through the fleeing rebel officials. Guan Zhili appeared and called Jiang Silin his daddy, leaving Jiang Silin stunned as the boy ran into his arms.

• Jiang Silin’s army faltered as reinforcements arrived and traitors weakened the attack on Chongyun Hall.
• Zhu Qian severed Pan Jifeng’s arm, brought him down, and advanced on the rebel officials as soldiers cut down those who fled.
• Jiang Yanchuan and Jiang Silin clashed repeatedly, neither managing to wound the other.
• Guan Zhili arrived and told Jiang Silin that he had returned from Beiming with Jiang Yanchuan, who had said Prince Xin was his daddy.
• Jiang Silin crouched, asked Guan Zhili’s name, and opened his arms; Guan Zhili ran into them and asked if he was really his daddy.

Jiang Yanchuan tried to save the mortally wounded Guan Zhili as Jiang Silin accused him of using a child as a pawn. After Jiang Yanchuan revealed Guan Zhili was his abandoned son, Jiang Silin begged him to save the boy, who had refused treatment because he believed he deserved to die for betraying his father.

• Jiang Silin struck Guan Zhili with nearly all his strength, leaving the boy with shattered ribs and grave injuries.
• Jiang Yanchuan offered Guan Zhili precious life-preserving pills, but Guan Zhili refused them because he had come prepared to die.
• Jiang Silin accused Jiang Yanchuan of pretending to be benevolent while sending Guan Zhili on a deadly mission.
• Jiang Yanchuan revealed that Guan Zhili had been abandoned as a baby and was Jiang Silin's missing son, prompting Jiang Silin to deny the truth in shock.
• Guan Zhili explained that he had betrayed Jiang Silin to protect the little girl who had once shown him warmth, then collapsed.
• Jiang Silin begged Jiang Yanchuan to save Guan Zhili and vowed to abandon his rebellion.

Guan Zhili woke from his long unconsciousness and learned that Jiang Yingcheng had saved him and that the captured rebels had been punished. Jiang Yanchuan then offered to bring in Guan Zhili’s birth mother, who was waiting outside.

• Guan Zhili awoke briefly, heard Jiang Yingcheng celebrating, and fell asleep again after asking what day it was.
• Guan Zhili woke later to find Jiang Yanchuan beside him, who helped him sit up and gave him warm water.
• Jiang Yanchuan explained that Zhu Qian’s men had captured Prince Xin’s Army after Jiang Silin was badly injured, and that Jiang Yingcheng had used medicines and buffs from the Merit Shop to save Guan Zhili.
• Jiang Yanchuan told Guan Zhili that the rebels’ hands and feet had been broken and they had been sent to guard the Imperial Mausoleum.
• Jiang Yanchuan asked whether Guan Zhili wanted to meet his birth mother, and Guan Zhili eagerly agreed.

Jiang Yanchuan comforted Qiu Suxin over her past with Jiang Silin, while the court dealt with the rebellion’s aftermath and rewarded Kan Ruifeng’s soldiers. As the first snow fell, Jiang Yingcheng celebrated that she was a princess.

• Jiang Yanchuan told Qiu Suxin he knew she had tried to report Jiang Silin and reassured her that she need not blame herself.
• Jiang Yanchuan spent two months punishing those involved in the attempted rebellion, and Kan Ruifeng returned to the Capital with his soldiers.
• Jiang Yingcheng listened as Emperor Mingze announced rewards for Kan Ruifeng and the soldiers, then nearly exposed a scandal through her thoughts.
• Lei Zhixin urged Emperor Mingze to use the soldiers’ rewards to rebuild Zhuoping County and other affected places, and Emperor Mingze praised him.
• Jiang Yingcheng walked with her Imperial Father through the first snow and thought that she was a princess.

During Morning Court, Jiang Yingcheng tried to test whether Emperor Mingze could hear her thoughts, while the officials who could hear them watched the emperor carefully. After court, Jiang Yingcheng expected a solo outing with her father, but discovered that her siblings were joining them too.

• Jiang Yingcheng shouted that there was an assassin, making the officials who heard her thoughts search the hall in alarm.
• Jiang Yingcheng concluded that Emperor Mingze had not reacted and reassured herself that he could not hear her thoughts.
• After court, Jiang Yanchuan sent Jiang Yingcheng to Xianyang Palace to prepare while he attended the Inner Court session.
• Jiang Yingcheng eagerly planned what to see, taste, and buy on her trip around Capital City.
• At Shengping Gate, Jiang Yingcheng found her brothers and sisters waiting to join the outing and saw her plan to impress them alone fall apart.
• Jiang Yanchuan invited Jiang Yingcheng aboard his carriage, and she cheerfully climbed in.

Jiang Yingcheng’s brothers tried to keep her tests of Jiang Yanchuan under control during their Lantern Festival outing, while Jiang Yanchuan summoned officials to join them. Just as Jiang Yingcheng finally turned to test her father, Jiao Hongmiao startled her with an exaggerated greeting.

• System Bro kept urging Jiang Yingcheng to test whether Jiang Yanchuan could hear her thoughts, and the princes panicked when she asked for another pastry in her mind.
• Jiang Tinghuai arranged for Liaochen to take Jiang Yingcheng to her favorite Egg Pancake stall, then quietly proposed a plan to Jiang Yanchuan.
• Jiang Yanchuan ordered officials across the capital to come to the Lantern Festival and admire the moon with the Little Highness.
• System Bro reminded Jiang Yingcheng to test Jiang Yanchuan after she had eaten several pastries, and she reluctantly turned toward him.
• Jiao Hongmiao greeted Jiang Yingcheng with an exaggerated cry, frightening her into stepping back.

At the Lantern Festival, Jiang Yingcheng’s unfiltered gossip about Jiao Hongmiao’s marital quarrels and embarrassing misadventures left him desperate to escape the ministers listening nearby. When she revealed that Auntie Jiao planned to buy a spiked club, Jiao Hongmiao spotted Chu Jiaxu and hurried over to recruit him as a distraction.

• Jiang Yingcheng hid behind Jiang Yanchuan and greeted Jiao Hongmiao, who asked to join their Lantern Festival outing.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Jiao Hongmiao had rejected Auntie Jiao’s invitation, and Jiang Yanchuan agreed to let him come along.
• As they walked, Jiang Yingcheng exposed Jiao Hongmiao’s thoughtless remarks and poor habits, while nearby ministers listened and laughed.
• Jiang Yingcheng began recounting how a bird had pooped into Jiao Hongmiao’s mouth, and he tried to interrupt her with an offer of snacks.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Auntie Jiao’s friend had reignited her anger and that Auntie Jiao planned to buy a spiked club, so Jiao Hongmiao rushed to Chu Jiaxu for help.

At the Lantern Festival, Jiang Yingcheng’s inner thoughts exposed Chu Jiaxu’s embarrassing discovery about his wife and mother, so he dragged nearby officials into the scene to divert attention. The officials ended up gathered around Jiang Yingcheng, who wondered why they had all come alone.

• Jiao Hongmiao hurried away, and Chu Jiaxu agreed to explore the Lantern Festival with Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s inner voice revealed that Chu Jiaxu had overheard his wife and mother criticizing him and discussing a nearby establishment for talented young men.
• Chu Jiaxu remembered catching the conversation three days earlier and realized what his wife and mother had meant.
• To escape the officials’ attention, Chu Jiaxu called out Ran Hongyi, who then exposed Wang Jinglun, Tan Songsong, and Lu Yao hiding nearby.
• Jiang Yingcheng looked at the gathered officials and wondered why they had all come to the Lantern Festival alone.

Jiang Yanchuan and his ministers tried to distract Jiang Yingcheng from exposing their private affairs, but her gossip revealed that Chu Jiaxu’s wife had secretly brought a young man into the household disguised as a maid. Chu Jiaxu learned the truth and was left in shock as the ministers struggled not to laugh.

• Jiang Yanchuan stayed at the sweet soup stall while his ministers tried to keep Jiang Yingcheng from uncovering their secrets.
• Duke Wang and Lu Yao steered the conversation toward reforms at the Heavenly Fragrance House, and Tan Songsong redirected Jiang Yingcheng’s attention to other pleasure houses.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s inner voice revealed that Chu Jiaxu’s wife had bought a young man with Chu Jiaxu’s hidden silver and disguised him as a maid in the old madam’s courtyard.
• Chu Jiaxu realized the young woman his wife and mother had taken in was the disguised man, while Jiang Yingcheng decided not to tell him that his wife planned to send the man away later.
• The ministers snickered at Chu Jiaxu until the sweet soup vendor called them lunatics.

An ambush erupted when black-clad assassins attacked Emperor Mingze and his entourage, forcing the guards and officials to fight back. Jiang Yingcheng helped distribute Hidden Weapon Cases and learned that Jiang Tinghuai and the other princes were safe, but the System warned her to watch out for the stall owner.

• After Ran Hongyi accidentally shouted “A sword bastard!!,” the black-clad men revealed themselves and charged at Emperor Mingze, and Lu Yao identified them as assassins.
• Jiang Yanchuan protected Jiang Yingcheng, ordered more Shadow Guards to defend the imperial princes, and knocked an attacker away with a porcelain bowl.
• Lei Zhixin reached Emperor Mingze, accepted the Hidden Weapon Cases Jiang Yingcheng produced, and ordered Gao Siyuan, Dong Kangsheng, and Yan Yuebin to manage the evacuation and fight.
• Jiang Yanchuan wondered how the attackers had learned of his outing and who they meant by their emperor, while Jiang Yingcheng asked the System about the princes.
• The System told Jiang Yingcheng that Jiang Tinghuai and the others were safe in a shop, then warned her to watch out for the stall owner.

As Shadow Guards fought off assassins, Jiang Yanchuan comforted Jiang Yingcheng while Liaochen and Zhong Chengwang stopped the sweet-soup stall owner from approaching Emperor Mingze. Zhong Chengwang exposed the man as an assassin, but Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts suggested he was a devoted fan of the Emperor.

• Xu Jiu deflected a thrown sword, and Jiang Yanchuan ordered Lei Zhixin to stop trying to capture the assassins alive.
• Jiang Yanchuan covered Jiang Yingcheng’s eyes and praised her for being brave as the officials watched the fighting.
• The sweet-soup stall owner tried to approach Emperor Mingze, but Liaochen accused him of swearing and threatened to take him to the Court of Judicial Review.
• The stall owner protested that he had meant to say “commoner,” and Zhong Chengwang called him an assassin and mocked his acting.
• Jiang Yingcheng wondered why the supposed assassin was actually Emperor Mingze’s devoted fan, leaving Zhong Chengwang and the officials stunned.

Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that a rumor about selling Emperor Mingze’s and the Little Princess’s blood had made the dessert stall owner a suspect, prompting the officials to misjudge him. When a bald man struck the vendor’s leg with a saber, the clang showed that the accusation might not have been entirely misplaced.

• The dessert stall owner protested that his plump, untrained body made him an implausible assassin, and Zhong Chengwang had to face the officials’ disapproval for accusing him.
• Jiang Yingcheng recalled how portraits of her had spread through Capital City and how a rumor claimed her and Emperor Mingze’s blood could help people have an angel baby.
• The officials reconsidered the stall owner when Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts connected him to the sale of the imperial family’s blood and bloodstained clothes.
• The bald man seized a saber and struck the dessert stall owner’s lower leg, producing the sound of metal hitting metal.