Recaps

Jiang Yingcheng turned Luo Fuying’s remarks about her figure into a supposed insult against her father, winning the other young royals’ sympathy as Luo Fuying became furious. The chapter ended with Jiang Yingcheng secretly smiling at Luo Fuying, who realized the little princess had been acting.

• Luo Fuying mocked Jiang Yingcheng’s rounded figure while claiming girls had to watch their weight to be liked.
• Jiang Yingcheng cried that Luo Fuying’s imperial father might dislike her, prompting Great Rui’s princes and the other children to defend her and condemn Luo Fuying.
• Jiang Yingcheng pretended to blame herself and begged the boys not to blame Luo Fuying, intensifying their disapproval of her.
• Jiang Yingcheng secretly flashed Luo Fuying a provocative smile, and Luo Fuying tried to alert everyone that the princess was smiling.

Jiang Yingcheng plotted to keep Luo Fuying from leaving easily, but her classroom plans gave way to a confrontation when Sheng Shixu thought she had been hurt. Jiang Huai'an arrived and challenged the group surrounding Luo Fuying, leaving the dispute unresolved.

• Jiang Yingcheng admired the gifts her classmates had given her and secretly planned ways to deceive Luo Fuying into apologizing.
• Teacher Miao called on Jiang Yingcheng in class, and she pretended not to realize he meant her.
• Sheng Shixu found Jiang Yingcheng at school, helped her lift her unexpectedly heavy gift bag, and noticed her red eyes.
• Sheng Shixu and several older princes entered the classroom, and he fixed his attention on Luo Fuying as if to defend Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Huai'an walked in and mocked the crowd for ganging up on Luo Fuying.

Jiang Yingcheng tried to turn hide-and-seek in the Cold Palace into a scheme to get Jiang Huai'an and Luo Fuying punished, but her companions followed her. She caught up with Luo Fuying, only to find Jiang Xingran and Sheng Shixu already behind her.

• Jiang Huai'an confronted the princes after Luo Fuying insulted Jiang Yingcheng by calling her fat, then left after hearing what she had said.
• Jiang Yingcheng caught Jiang Huai'an before he could leave and persuaded him and the others to play hide-and-seek in the Cold Palace.
• Jiang Yingcheng planned to trap Luo Fuying in a secret chamber and make her believe Jiang Huai'an had locked them inside, unaware that Emperor Mingze could hear her thoughts.
• Jiang Xingran and Sheng Shixu followed Jiang Yingcheng, while Jiang Qiuyu and Lin Jinshu went to alert their imperial father.
• Jiang Yingcheng caught up with Luo Fuying and asked her to hide together, but Luo Fuying pointed out Jiang Xingran and Sheng Shixu behind her.

Jiang Xingran led Jiang Yingcheng, Luo Fuying, and Sheng Shixu through the Cold Palace as Jiang Yingcheng guided him toward a hidden entrance. They uncovered a concealed staircase and descended into the passage, where a formidable Secret Chamber door awaited them.

• Jiang Xingran led the group through several paths while Jiang Yingcheng silently corrected his directions toward the Secret Chamber.
• Jiang Xingran spotted a latch hidden beneath dead grass, cleared the buried door, and broke its rusty lock.
• Jiang Yingcheng, Luo Fuying, and Sheng Shixu joined Jiang Xingran in opening the door and revealing a flight of Stone Steps.
• Jiang Xingran took Jiang Yingcheng's hand and led the group down the steps, with Sheng Shixu following behind.
• The group walked through the underground passage until they reached the imposing door to the Secret Chamber.

Jiang Yingcheng and the others opened the secret chamber, where Liaochen discovered signs that someone had recently been inside. The chamber door then locked behind them, and Jiang Huai'an taunted them from outside.

• Jiang Xingran used Jiang Yingcheng's thoughts to solve the intricate lock and open the great door.
• The group entered the underground chamber, where an unseen voice startled Jiang Yingcheng before Liaochen and Yu Xingmian revealed themselves behind the children.
• Liaochen found that the chamber's furniture and study had surprisingly little dust and ordered everyone to leave.
• The great door clicked shut, and Jiang Huai'an taunted the trapped group from outside.
• Jiang Yingcheng loudly demanded that someone open the door, pretending not to know who was outside.

Jiang Yingcheng and the others explored the secret chamber after pretending to be trapped, and she discovered a hidden side chamber packed with treasure. There, she realized the coffin was a cenotaph for Prince Xin’s mother, leaving Liaochen preparing to withdraw and report the discovery.

• Jiang Yingcheng pretended not to know that Fourth Imperial Prince had locked them in, and the group waited for rescue before Liaochen checked the corridor for danger.
• Liaochen led the group deeper into the chamber, where Jiang Yingcheng found a concealed stone door and he opened it.
• The group entered a brightly lit side chamber filled with rare treasures and gold, and Jiang Yingcheng rushed inside after Yu Xingmian confirmed it was safe.
• Jiang Yingcheng noticed a coffin, cried as Liaochen held her, and he examined the plain golden-silk-nanmu coffin and its memorial tablet.
• Liaochen prepared to leave the chamber, but Jiang Yingcheng recognized the coffin as a cenotaph for Prince Xin’s mother.

Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed Prince Xin’s hidden crimes and a passage leading outside the palace, so Liaochen continued through the Underground Palace toward its second Side Chamber. Yu Xingmian opened the concealed door by tripping Liaochen and catching the little girl before he hit the wall.

• Luo Fuying reached for the treasure, but Jiang Yingcheng’s sudden scream startled her into knocking gold bars aside.
• Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that Prince Xin had spread a false story about the late emperor’s succession plans and secretly dug a passage into the palace.
• Liaochen and the others learned the passage might lead outside the palace, while Jiang Yingcheng resolved to report Prince Xin to Emperor Mingze.
• Liaochen followed Jiang Yingcheng’s directions through branching corridors until they neared the second Side Chamber.
• Yu Xingmian tripped Liaochen, caught Jiang Yingcheng, and caused Liaochen to crash into the concealed stone door, opening it.

Jiang Yingcheng found a jewelry box in the Side Chamber, but opening it triggered a mechanism that locked the group inside. As smoke seeped through the sealed door, the others realized her thoughts had foreshadowed the danger.

• Jiang Yingcheng used System Bro's floor plan to locate a battered jewelry box atop a bookshelf, and Sheng Shixu retrieved it for her.
• Jiang Yingcheng shook the box, triggering a click that caused Liaochen to discover the concealed door had been locked from outside.
• Luo Fuying panicked and begged the others to find a way out, while Sheng Shixu tried to reassure her.
• Jiang Yingcheng thought that the group would be rescued by her Imperial Father, but also wondered whether someone might use poisonous smoke against them.
• Thick smoke began seeping through the cracks around the door, and the others recognized that Jiang Yingcheng's thought had predicted the threat.

Liaochen and Yu Xingmian escaped a smoke-filled chamber through a hidden passage and navigated the Underground Palace while avoiding an assassin. At a maze of corridors, Jiang Yingcheng prepared to guide them by pretending to be Bodhisattva Jiayue.

• Liaochen and Yu Xingmian sealed the chamber door with their robes as smoke poured in, then gathered the children in a far corner.
• Jiang Yingcheng used System Bro’s map to reveal a passage behind the wall, and Liaochen accidentally activated its mechanism after Yu Xingmian tripped him.
• Liaochen kicked over an iron vase, exposing a floor button that opened the hidden passage.
• The group fled through the passage, following Jiang Yingcheng’s information to avoid the mysterious pursuer and reaching a maze of junctions.
• Jiang Yingcheng announced herself as Bodhisattva Jiayue and offered to guide Liaochen.

Jiang Yingcheng exposed Luo Fuying’s past crime to prove her claims, then guided the group through the underground passage to its hidden exit. As they emerged into an empty courtyard and opened its gate, they came face-to-face with another group.

• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Luo Fuying had pushed her younger brother into a pond and framed the Fifth Prince, leaving Luo Fuying visibly shaken.
• Liaochen and the others accepted Jiang Yingcheng’s directions, followed the passage to its exit, and opened the heavy iron door.
• Yu Xingmian knocked Luo Fuying unconscious to keep her from learning the passage’s location.
• Jiang Xingran dodged the unconscious Sheng Shixu, who fell to the ground, while Yu Xingmian looked on in surprise.
• Liaochen found the courtyard outside empty, and the group climbed out through a dry well and headed for its gate.
• Liaochen opened the gate and found an astonished group standing outside.

Jiang Yanchuan found Jiang Yingcheng and the others after they escaped the secret passage, then caught them plotting how to hide what they had done. As they returned, Jiang Yingcheng tried to avoid punishment by playing the victim, but her lie fell apart when she offered her father a piece of cake after claiming she was starving.

• Jiang Yanchuan learned that the only exit from the secret passage was guarded, but Lu Yao soon found another way out and led the search party after him.
• Jiang Yingcheng and the other children discussed how to explain their actions and keep Bodhisattva Jiayue a secret from Jiang Yanchuan.
• Jiang Yanchuan appeared in the courtyard and overheard Jiang Yingcheng planning to fake an injury, leaving her stunned and worried that she was in trouble.
• Jiang Yanchuan ordered Xing Junchu to take the captives back for questioning while the group returned through the tunnel.
• Jiang Yingcheng held Jiang Yanchuan's hand and pretended she had suffered terribly, but when he said he had not eaten, she offered him the Cloud-Slice Cake she had supposedly been unable to eat.

Jiang Huai'an was accused of locking Luo Fuying and the others inside the Secret Chamber, while Jiang Xingran struggled between joining the accusation and telling the truth. Jiang Yingcheng began to reveal that a mysterious man had locked Luo Fuying in, and realized she had forgotten him.

• Jiang Yanchuan flicked Jiang Yingcheng’s forehead as she silently planned ways to escape punishment.
• Luo Fuying woke at the Cold Palace, saw Jiang Huai'an, and fainted again, prompting the group to return to Wuyang Hall.
• Luo Fuying accused Jiang Huai'an of locking her, Sheng Shixu, Jiang Xingran, and the others inside the Secret Chamber.
• Sheng Shixu backed Luo Fuying’s accusation, and Jiang Xingran asked Jiang Huai'an where he had been while they were trapped.
• Jiang Yingcheng began explaining that a mysterious man had locked Luo Fuying inside, then realized she had forgotten about him.

Jiang Yanchuan punished Jiang Huai'an for failing to protect the others, then summoned Lu Yao and Xing Junchu to discuss the captured intruder. Jiang Yingcheng’s discoveries revealed that the man was a grandmaster and a spy planted by Prince Xin, while Xing Junchu improvised around the secrets she exposed.

• Jiang Yanchuan confined Jiang Huai'an in Fengjin Hall for seven days, then compensated Sheng Shixu and his companion and sent them away under orders to keep silent.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that the mysterious intruder was a Martial Arts Grandmaster named Xing Hengyi.
• Xing Junchu reported that Xing Hengyi had hidden in the palace, followed the Little Highnesses into the Secret Passage, and was suspected of entering on someone’s orders.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Xing Hengyi was Prince Xin’s spy, knew the Bone-Shrinking Technique, and had been disguised as a palace maid.
• Jiang Yingcheng disclosed that Xing Hengyi loved a consort in the Imperial Harem, but Xing Junchu hurriedly claimed the man was psychologically vulnerable because the technique had made him short.

Jiang Yanchuan opened Prince Xin’s redwood box and discovered a hidden note inside a jeweled hairpin. The note’s contents left his expression darkened.

• Liaochen and Yu Xingmian identified Xing Hengyi as the vanished grandmaster known as The Child and offered to investigate him.
• Jiang Yingcheng reluctantly gave Jiang Yanchuan the redwood box, then watched him open it and inspect its contents.
• Jiang Yanchuan searched the box for a hidden compartment while Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts revealed that a hairpin concealed a note.
• Jiang Yanchuan dismantled the hairpin, removed the hidden note, and darkened as he read it.

Jiang Yanchuan learned from Jiang Yingcheng’s thoughts that Prince Xin was the Late Emperor’s biological son, while Consort Shu had falsely claimed otherwise and used him to pursue revenge against Great Rui. He began considering helping Prince Xin, but Jiang Yingcheng’s anger at Prince Xin’s deception—and a sudden noise from Eunuch Changshun—interrupted the moment.

• Jiang Yanchuan opened the box and read the note revealing that Prince Xin was not the Late Emperor’s biological son.
• Jiang Yingcheng learned that Consort Shu had been an enemy general’s daughter whose family died in Great Rui’s conquest, and Jiang Yanchuan reconsidered his resentment toward her.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that Consort Shu had deceived and used Prince Xin, leaving him with a lifelong burden and a hidden plea for someone to stop or save him.
• Jiang Yanchuan realized Prince Xin was the Late Emperor’s son after all and considered reaching out to help him.
• Jiang Yingcheng remembered that Prince Xin had lied about the Late Emperor’s final edict and turned Jiang Yanchuan and Prince Jing against each other, then a thud drew her attention to Eunuch Changshun.

Jiang Yingcheng asked palace officials how to make money and finally received useful military cost-cutting ideas from Kan Ruifeng. She began revealing a superior wound medicine formula through her thoughts, but a messenger interrupted before Kan Ruifeng could hear it all.

• Jiang Yingcheng intercepted officials and asked how to make money, but Jiao Hongmiao, Chu Jiaxu, and Ran Hongyi offered no useful advice.
• Kan Ruifeng told Jiang Yingcheng that armies could increase revenue or cut costs, then described the shortage of army physicians and the difficulty of treating soldiers.
• Jiang Yingcheng thought of preparing common medicines in advance, grinding ingredients into powder, and using a more effective wound medicine formula.
• Kan Ruifeng realized Jiang Yingcheng had valuable ideas and listened as she redeemed the wound medicine formula from the Merit Shop.
• A messenger interrupted Jiang Yingcheng before she could finish revealing the formula, leaving Kan Ruifeng glaring at him.

Jiang Yingcheng learned from Lei Zhixin how Great Rui had justified past wars, alarming him with hints that she had learned a lesson. At the New Year's Banquet, she collected purses from guests and eyed the foreign envoys, leaving the ministers fearing she was about to put her knowledge to use.

• Jiang Yingcheng asked Lei Zhixin how Great Rui found reasons to attack other countries, and he described exploiting an enemy's wrongdoing or sending an envoy to provoke a fight.
• Jiang Yingcheng's thoughts about having learned a lesson filled Lei Zhixin with dread, and she left with Uncle Liaochen before he could find out what she planned.
• Jiang Yingcheng wore a pink gown to the New Year's Banquet and collected bulging purses from the ruler of the Jianggu Kingdom and other guests.
• Lei Zhixin, Kan Ruifeng, Jiao Hongmiao, and other ministers gathered at Cloudbrook Hall and worried that Jiang Yingcheng intended to act on what she had learned.
• Jiang Yingcheng handed her day's purses to Uncle Liaochen, looked toward the foreign envoys, and wondered whom she should start with.

Jiang Yingcheng learned that the ruler of Yanchu was a tyrant and tried to engineer an accident so she could attack him. Lei Zhixin intervened by faking an injury and accusing the ruler of tripping him.

• Jiang Yingcheng asked her System Bro to investigate the ruler of Yanchu and learned that he was a hypocritical tyrant.
• Jiang Yingcheng planned to hide near a pillar, a screen, or a table and make the ruler fall onto her.
• When the ruler of Yanchu began leaving, Jiang Yingcheng decided to charge straight at him.
• Lei Zhixin distracted Jiang Yi'an and deliberately fell as he passed the ruler of Yanchu.
• Lei Zhixin struck himself with internal energy, showed blood at his mouth, and accused the ruler of tripping him.

After Lei Zhixin pretended to be injured to frame the Ruler of Yanchu, Jiang Yingcheng helped the officials keep up the act while the ruler mistook Great Rui’s scheming for kindness. The officials learned Jiang Yingcheng had information on Yanchu, and she began plotting to use the same trick against other kingdoms.

• Lei Zhixin accused the Ruler of Yanchu, then pretended to collapse and cough blood after stepping on his foot.
• Jiang Yingcheng rushed to Lei Zhixin’s side, blamed the Ruler of Yanchu, and helped the officials maintain the deception until Lei Zhixin was carried away.
• Kan Ruifeng took Jiang Yingcheng aside, where she asked what Lei Zhixin had been trying to do.
• The Ruler of Yanchu overheard the officials’ conversation, mistook their act for compassion, and left reassured.
• The officials hinted at their plans to Jiang Yingcheng, who offered to write down Yanchu’s secrets and considered using Lei Zhixin’s method on other kingdoms.

Jiang Yingcheng’s military uncles dodged her request to stage an injury, then brought her treats while the officials heard her expose foreign rulers’ schemes and secrets. She revealed that Tiansheng Kingdom’s ruler was an impostor who had imprisoned the real ruler’s son, and Great Rui’s officials vowed to avenge the Crown Prince.

• Dong Kangsheng, Yan Yuebin, and Gao Siyuan made excuses to avoid Jiang Yingcheng’s request, while Kan Ruifeng remained with her.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Danxia Kingdom’s ruler had planted Shao Xuan to poison Zhujin Kingdom’s ruler and frame Great Rui, and the generals and Lu Yao had already arranged to expose the plot.
• Jiang Yingcheng exposed Jianggu Kingdom’s ruler for pretending to be poor to get lavish gifts from Great Rui, outraging the officials.
• Jiang Yingcheng revealed that Tiansheng Kingdom’s ruler was the real ruler’s younger twin brother in disguise, and that he had imprisoned the real ruler’s son after the Crown Prince discovered the truth.
• Jiang Yingcheng and the officials vowed to avenge the imprisoned Crown Prince.

At the New Year’s banquet, Jiang Yingcheng learned that Prince Jing and Kou Qiwen had already made contact and were preparing to move against the Crown Prince. Before she could discover their plan, two children arrived and interrupted her.

• Jiang Yi'an took a walnut cookie from Jiang Yingcheng and tried to draw her into conversation while Kan Ruifeng kept her close.
• Jiang Yingcheng greeted Prince Jing with a New Year’s blessing and received his money pouch, then judged it too thin.
• Kan Ruifeng redirected the conversation to General Lei’s injuries, and Jiang Yingcheng remembered Prince Jing and Kou Qiwen.
• Jiang Yingcheng asked System Bro whether the two men had met and learned they had made contact and planned to target the Crown Prince.
• As Jiang Yingcheng began reading the details of their plan, two children called to her from the entrance of Cloudbrook Hall.

Jiang Yingcheng left Cloudbrook Hall to play with her friends and handed out New Year's gifts in Shaking Light Hall. When Jiang Qiuyu revealed that Noble Consort Rou had taken Luo Fuying aside, the children hurried off to see what was happening.

• Jiang Yingcheng got Kan Ruifeng's permission to leave Cloudbrook Hall and went to Shaking Light Hall with Qiao Yunbai, Sheng Shixu, and the others.
• Jiang Xingran met the group and pulled Jiang Yingcheng in front of him, asking why she was running around.
• Jiang Yingcheng gave Jiang Qiuyu, Jiang Xingran, and Lin Jinshu pouches filled with gold beans, but Jiang Xingran's homemade pastries made the group uneasy.
• Jiang Qiuyu said Luo Fuying and her Imperial Consort had followed Noble Consort Rou into Shaking Light Hall looking unhappy.
• Jiang Yingcheng and the others decided to go see what Noble Consort Rou was doing.

Jiang Yingcheng and the others secretly watched Noble Consort Rou confront Luo Fuying and her mother, the Imperial Consort, in Shaking Light Hall’s rear courtyard. The Imperial Consort agreed to help eliminate the Eleventh Princess in exchange for her daughter’s offenses being forgiven, but Qiao Yunbai’s cough exposed the eavesdroppers.

• Jiang Xingran led the group toward the rear courtyard, where they overheard Noble Consort Rou demanding that Luo Fuying and the Imperial Consort answer for offending the Pan Family.
• Jiang Yingcheng discovered that Yishui Kingdom’s ruler had coerced merchant families and felt conflicted about keeping the money he had given her.
• Noble Consort Rou offered the Imperial Consort a way out, and Luo Fuying begged her mother to accept so they could return home.
• The Imperial Consort agreed to help eliminate the Eleventh Princess if Noble Consort Rou promised not to pursue Luo Fuying’s offenses.
• Qiao Yunbai coughed, and someone in the courtyard called out, “Who’s there?!”

Jiang Yingcheng and the other children fled Chi Yimian’s ambush in Shaking Light Hall, but Chi Yimian cornered them with a sword while Noble Consort Rou denied ordering the attack. As Jiang Xingran and Sheng Shixu prepared to distract Chi Yimian so Jiang Xingran could reach Luo Fuying, Jiang Yingcheng discovered a hidden weapon box in her system.

• Sheng Shixu and Jiang Xingran rescued Jiang Yingcheng from the window blast and led the children toward the front courtyard.
• Chi Yimian intercepted them and drew her Flexible Sword, while Noble Consort Rou denied conspiring to kill Jiang Yingcheng.
• Jiang Qiuyu and Jiang Yingcheng screamed for help, but the noise from Shaking Light Hall made it unlikely anyone would hear them.
• Jiang Xingran signaled Sheng Shixu to distract Chi Yimian while he went to retrieve Luo Fuying.
• Jiang Yingcheng noticed the option to use a hidden weapon box and urged System Bro to give her one.

Jiang Yingcheng and the others fought Chi Yimian with hidden weapons as they tried to escape the hall. After Chi Yimian dodged their attacks, Jiang Yingcheng revealed that she still had many more cases, leaving Chi Yimian startled.

• Jiang Xingran tripped Sheng Shixu as he prepared to charge forward, and Jiang Yingcheng fired Poison Needles at Chi Yimian, who dodged them.
• System Bro filled Jiang Yingcheng’s pouches with hidden weapons and urged her to hand some out to the others.
• Jiang Yingcheng, Jiang Qiuyu, Lin Jinshu, and Qiao Yunbai fired volleys at Chi Yimian, who evaded the attacks and advanced toward them.
• Jiang Xingran considered targeting Noble Consort Rou, and Sheng Shixu mistook his glance toward Luo Fuying for a plan to attack her.
• Jiang Yingcheng pulled out several more Hidden Weapon Cases and announced that she still had plenty, shocking Chi Yimian.