Chapter Summaries

After Hu Xiaotian drove Wu Jingshan from the literary gathering, Xu Zhengying left while Hu stayed behind to court Huo Xiaoru. As Hu and Huo exchanged couplets outside the pavilion, Qiu Zhitang mocked Huo’s status as a singing courtesan, provoking Hu’s anger.

• Hu Xiaotian’s confrontation forced Wu Jingshan and Su Qingkun to leave, and Xu Zhengying ended the gathering before departing himself.
• Hu Xiaotian ignored Xu Zhengying’s request to leave and stayed to talk with Huo Xiaoru, while Liang Dazhuang and the other servants waited downstairs.
• Hu Xiaotian accompanied Huo Xiaoru from the pavilion, and they exchanged clever couplets outside, including one that made Hu wonder if Huo was admonishing him to do good.
• Qiu Zhitang recited a couplet that insulted Huo Xiaoru’s profession and implied that singing courtesans had no true feelings.
• Hu Xiaotian inwardly cursed Qiu Zhitang for insulting Huo Xiaoru.

After Qiu Zhitang humiliated Huo Xiaoru, Hu Xiaotian beat him and Qiu Zhigao in a brawl at the Misty Waters Pavilion. Murong Feiyan arrived and stopped Hu Xiaotian from leaving, setting up a confrontation over his actions.

• Huo Xiaoru left the gathering in distress after Qiu Zhitang insulted her, and Hu Xiaotian punched Qiu Zhitang in anger.
• Qiu Zhigao and several scholars attacked Hu Xiaotian, but Liang Dazhuang and Hu Xiaotian's servants overwhelmed them.
• Hu Xiaotian and his servants beat the Qiu brothers until Murong Feiyan arrived and ordered everyone to stop.
• Murong Feiyan accused Hu Xiaotian of assaulting the brothers, while Hu Xiaotian argued that she had judged him without investigating.
• Hu Xiaotian tried to leave, but Murong Feiyan blocked him with her sheathed sword, and he taunted her.

Hu Xiaotian was arrested by Murong Feiyan after beating the Qiu brothers, while Xu Zhengying tried to use Hu Xiaotian’s powerful family connections to make them back down. The Qiu brothers instead denied the assault and joined Hu Xiaotian in claiming they were friends, leaving Murong Feiyan unable to rely on their testimony.

• Hu Xiaotian punched Qiu Zhigao again, and Murong Feiyan drew her sword, bound Hu Xiaotian, and ordered her constables to arrest his servants.
• Xu Zhengying returned to the Misty Waters Pavilion and asked what crime Hu Xiaotian had committed.
• Xu Zhengying privately told the Qiu brothers about Hu Xiaotian’s influential father and future father-in-law, but they still cried that they had suffered an injustice.
• When Murong Feiyan offered to take them to the Capital Prefecture, the Qiu brothers claimed Hu Xiaotian had not harmed them and that they were his friends.
• Hu Xiaotian backed up the Qiu brothers’ story, describing their beating as a sign of friendship.

Hu Xiaotian escaped punishment after fighting the Qiu brothers, then stopped to rescue an injured cart driver despite Xu Zhengying’s objections. He treated the old man’s fractured leg and left him splinted by the roadside.

• Murong Feiyan released Hu Xiaotian and warned him to change his ways, while the Qiu brothers and other scholars fled without accusing him.
• Xu Zhengying took Hu Xiaotian home in his carriage, and Hu Xiaotian privately resented Huo Xiaoru for leaving without thanking him.
• Huo Xiaoru explained to Wan'er that she had left to keep her presence from worsening Hu Xiaotian’s trouble.
• Hu Xiaotian stopped Xu Zhengying’s carriage when a freight cart overturned and pinned its elderly driver beneath a wheel.
• Hu Xiaotian rejected Xu Zhengying’s objections, declared that everyone was born equal, and organized the servants to unload the cart and free the injured man.
• Hu Xiaotian diagnosed a hairline fracture in the old man’s thigh and splinted his leg with wooden boards and cloth strips.

Hu Xiaotian rescued an old man trapped beneath a carriage, revealing skilled medical knowledge that puzzled Xu Zhengying and Yuan Shiqing. After returning home, he questioned Hu An about why the maids serving him were so unattractive.

• Hu Xiaotian stabilized the old man's fractured leg in the rain, and Xu Zhengying held an umbrella over him.
• Yuan Shiqing arrived from Easy Origin Hall, examined Hu Xiaotian's treatment, and learned that Hu Xiaotian was not a physician.
• Hu Xiaotian left the old man's further care and expenses to Easy Origin Hall, then departed with his servants.
• Xu Zhengying told Yuan Shiqing that Hu Xiaotian was the son of the Minister of Revenue and expressed doubt that he knew medicine.
• Hu An welcomed Hu Xiaotian back to the residence, where Hu Xiaotian bathed, changed, and drank ginger soup.
• After Xiang Ning left, Hu Xiaotian asked Hu An why the servants around him were so unattractive.

Hu Xiaotian wrestled with whether to accept his family’s arranged marriage or reclaim his freedom, then discovered burglars trying to break into his room. The household captured both intruders, and Hu Xiaotian confronted them.

• Hu An warned Hu Xiaotian that his fight at Misty Waters Pavilion could damage the Hu Family’s reputation, but Hu Xiaotian silenced him.
• Hu Xiaotian agonized over his arranged marriage and his desire to choose his own life, thinking of Huo Xiaoru, Murong Feiyan, and Tang Qingxuan.
• Hu Xiaotian heard movement outside his room and drove a bamboo tube through an intruder’s throat when the man tried to pump knockout smoke inside.
• Li Jinhao, Liang Dazhuang, and the other servants and guards surrounded the burglars and captured them.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned the bound intruders, while the bearded burglar defied him and dared him to kill him.

After burglars lured the Hu Residence guards away with a break-in, an accomplice set fire to the Elegant Gathering Pavilion and stole the Hu Family’s Iron Deed of Redemption. Hu Xiaotian ordered Hu An to keep the theft secret and go inform his father, while he resolved to deal with the burglars.

• Hu Xiaotian captured two burglars, but a fire broke out at the Elegant Gathering Pavilion and drew most of the household guards away.
• Hu Xiaotian and the guards extinguished the fire, and Murong Feiyan arrived to investigate and took the burglars into custody.
• Hu An told Hu Xiaotian that the Iron Deed of Redemption had been kept in the pavilion and was now missing.
• Hu Xiaotian realized the burglars had likely served as a distraction while someone stole the deed and burned the scene.
• Hu Xiaotian ordered Hu An to keep the theft secret and travel to the Eastern Capital to inform Hu Buwei, while he took responsibility for handling the burglars.

Hu Xiaotian searched for the missing Iron Deed of Redemption and visited the Capital Prefecture to learn about the burglary case. He persuaded Murong Feiyan to let him question the captured burglars, hoping to recover his household’s stolen property.

• Hu Xiaotian ordered Hu An to ride to the Eastern Capital, then searched the burned Elegant Gathering Pavilion with Liang Dazhuang and the servants but found no Iron Deed of Redemption.
• Hu Xiaotian went to the Capital Prefecture and asked Murong Feiyan about the investigation, while she explained that the captured burglars claimed they had come to kidnap him for ransom.
• Hu Xiaotian offered to reveal what valuable item his household had lost in exchange for seeing the burglars, and Murong Feiyan agreed to take him into the jail alone.
• A physician told Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian that the burglars’ wounds were not serious and that the injured old man would need months to recover.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the cell and considered how his medical knowledge might make him wealthy, but decided he preferred an easy life as an official’s son.

Hu Xiaotian used lies and threats to make one burglar confess that Zhao Zhenghao had hired them to kidnap him. The clue pointed Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan toward Mo Shaoqi, a horse dealer on Camel Street, though Murong Feiyan still resented Hu Xiaotian’s interference.

• Hu Xiaotian questioned the two burglars and claimed they had been betrayed by someone who tipped him off and stole the Hu family’s treasure.
• Hu Xiaotian threatened the burglars with punishment and had Murong Feiyan pretend that the unconscious bearded burglar would be executed.
• The injured burglar broke down and confessed that Zhao Zhenghao had hired them to kidnap Hu Xiaotian for ransom.
• The burglar told Murong Feiyan that Zhao Zhenghao knew a horse dealer named Mo Shaoqi on Camel Street.
• Hu Xiaotian explained that he had invented the tip-off to manipulate the burglars, then urged Murong Feiyan to investigate Mo Shaoqi with him.

Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian found Mo Shaolin at Camel Street while searching for Zhao Zhenghao, but Mo Shaolin recognized their interest and escaped on horseback. They followed his lead toward Zhao Zhenghao, though the chapter ended before they could learn where he was.

• Hu Xiaotian persuaded Murong Feiyan to let him join her search for Mo Shaolin at Camel Street.
• Murong Feiyan and Hu Xiaotian found Mo Shaolin bargaining at the horse market and asked him about Zhao Zhenghao.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Mo Shaolin five taels of silver in exchange for taking them to Zhao Zhenghao.
• Mo Shaolin gave instructions to a groom, mounted a yellow horse, and escaped over a fence as Li Jinhao and Shao Yijiao tried to stop him.

A disguised rider abducted Hu Xiaotian while Murong Feiyan pursued Mo Shaolin, but she turned back and chased the kidnapper. Mo Shaolin’s arrows brought down her horse, and Murong Feiyan rescued Hu Xiaotian after forcing the rider to abandon his whip and flee the saddle.

• Murong Feiyan chased Mo Shaolin, while the mud-covered groom attacked Hu Xiaotian and dragged him away with his whip.
• The rider knocked down Liang Dazhuang and the other servants, then carried Hu Xiaotian toward the southern entrance of Camel Street.
• Murong Feiyan realized she had been lured away and pursued the rider onto Sunset Street as Mo Shaolin prepared his bow in the rain.
• Mo Shaolin fired at Murong Feiyan; she deflected one arrow, caught another in her teeth, and lost her horse to his third shot.
• Murong Feiyan attacked the rider, who abandoned his whip and tumbled off the white horse, and she rode back to Hu Xiaotian.

Murong Feiyan rescued Hu Xiaotian from Mo Shaolin but was struck by a Fang-Barbed Arrow, and Hu Xiaotian prepared to operate when the arrow’s mechanism proved trapped inside her body. The chapter ended with Li Yifeng shocked that Hu Xiaotian planned to stitch Murong Feiyan’s wound shut.

• Mo Shaolin shot Murong Feiyan in the shoulder as she carried Hu Xiaotian away, and she collapsed after reaching Easy Origin Hall.
• Yuan Shiqing freed Hu Xiaotian’s sealed acupoints, and Hu Xiaotian examined the Fang-Barbed Arrow lodged in Murong Feiyan.
• Hu Xiaotian drew diagrams of surgical tools and arranged supplies while Yuan Shiqing sent messengers to the Minister's Residence and the Capital Prefecture.
• The storeroom keeper found several usable instruments, including a curved needle, and Hu Xiaotian sterilized them.
• Li Yifeng agreed that the arrow’s mechanism was inside Murong Feiyan and heard Hu Xiaotian propose enlarging the wound to find it.
• Hu Xiaotian warned that bleeding and the lack of suitable suture thread could complicate the operation, and Li Yifeng was astonished that he intended to stitch the wound.

Hu Xiaotian operated on Murong Feiyan to remove the Fang-Barbed Arrow from her shoulder, improvising surgical tools and lighting while Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing assisted. After the operation succeeded, Hu Xiaotian reflected on his past career and rediscovered the purpose of being a doctor.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Li Yifeng had Mulberry-Bark Suture and prepared the room and instruments for Murong Feiyan’s operation.
• Hu Xiaotian cut open Murong Feiyan’s wound and carefully exposed the arrow shaft while Li Yifeng directed candlelight and Yuan Shiqing passed instruments.
• Hu Xiaotian retracted the arrow’s barbs, and Yuan Shiqing pulled the shaft from Murong Feiyan’s shoulder.
• Hu Xiaotian treated and sutured both openings of Murong Feiyan’s wound, then watched her fall asleep.
• Hu Xiaotian realized the operation had succeeded and reflected that healing the injured mattered more than fame and profit.

Hu Xiaotian learned that the assassination attempt was part of a layered scheme, then discovered that Hu An had likely deceived him about the theft of the Hu Family's Iron Deed of Redemption. Hu Buwei confirmed the deed was stolen but left Hu An's role unresolved.

• Hu Xiaotian told Hong Baiqi that Murong Feiyan was out of danger after saving him from the assassin.
• Hu Xiaotian confronted the cat burglar, who insisted he had revealed everything he knew, and Hu Xiaotian suspected Zhao Zhenghao and Mo Shaolin had been used in a larger plot.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to the Minister's Residence and learned Hu Buwei had gone to the fire-blackened ruins of the Elegant Gathering Pavilion.
• Hu Buwei asked whether Hu Xiaotian had seen Hu An, and Hu Xiaotian explained that Hu An had claimed the Iron Deed of Redemption was stolen and asked him to report it.
• Hu Buwei revealed that he had never told Hu An where the Iron Deed was kept, then confirmed that the Hu Family's deed had indeed been stolen.

Hu Buwei and Hu Xiaotian realized Hu An had stolen the Iron Deed of Redemption and feared the political danger it posed amid rumors of a succession struggle. Hu Buwei decided to send Hu Xiaotian away from the capital before the coming turmoil.

• Hu Buwei warned Hu Xiaotian that the emperor’s declining health and growing distrust made the stolen Iron Deed of Redemption a serious threat to the Hu Family.
• Hu Xiaotian reasoned that Hu An planned to use the deed as leverage and had stolen it while the household was distracted by burglars and a fire.
• Hu Xiaotian recalled that the burglars’ supposed connection to Hu An did not add up and told Hu Buwei that they had lured him into an attempt on his life.
• Hu Buwei explained that the approaching succession crisis could bring upheaval to the capital and said he had considered sending Hu Xiaotian elsewhere to serve as an official.
• Hu Buwei resolved to send Hu Xiaotian away from the capital to protect him from the political storm.

Hu Buwei arranged for Hu Xiaotian to take an official post in Western Sichuan, partly to distance him from the capital’s political turmoil, while keeping their family ties secret. Seven days later, Hu Xiaotian went to Easy Origin Hall for Murong Feiyan’s stitch removal, where Li Yifeng awaited him, impressed by his surgical skill and surprised by his identity.

• Hu Buwei told Hu Xiaotian that he planned to send him to serve as an official in Western Sichuan and revealed that the Li Family had agreed to postpone the wedding by two years.
• Hu Buwei decided to keep Hu Xiaotian’s departure secret from the Li Family and others, and said he would explain the plan to Hu Xiaotian’s mother himself.
• Hu An disappeared, the stolen Iron Deed of Redemption remained unreported, and Hu Buwei resumed his routine while Hu Xiaotian waited impatiently to leave the capital.
• Hu Buwei increased Hu Xiaotian’s escort to eight guards after the assassination attempt on Camel Street, leaving Hu Xiaotian feeling confined.
• Seven days later, Hu Xiaotian went to Easy Origin Hall for Murong Feiyan’s stitch removal and found Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing waiting there.
• Li Yifeng recalled being astonished by Hu Xiaotian’s surgical skill and learned that the surgeon was Hu Buwei’s only son.

Hu Xiaotian met Li Yifeng at Easy Origin Hall, where Li gave him a custom set of surgical instruments and asked him to treat Prince Jin’s broken arm. Hu Xiaotian suspected the request could bring trouble to his family and denied knowing medicine.

• Hu Xiaotian arrived at Easy Origin Hall and waited with Li Yifeng for Chief Constable Murong.
• Li Yifeng presented Hu Xiaotian with surgical instruments made from his diagrams, and Hu Xiaotian accepted them.
• Li Yifeng asked who had taught Hu Xiaotian his surgical methods.
• Li Yifeng revealed that Prince Jin’s left arm had not healed after a fall three months earlier and asked Hu Xiaotian to examine him.
• Hu Xiaotian worried that treating Prince Jin could endanger him and his family, then told Li Yifeng he knew nothing about medicine.

Hu Xiaotian frightened Li Yifeng away from treating Prince Jin by claiming he secretly dissected corpses, then met Murong Feiyan at Easy Origin Hall. After she criticized people who lived idly, Hu Xiaotian abruptly told her to take off her clothes.

• Hu Xiaotian claimed his knowledge of anatomy came from dissecting animals and secretly buying dead bodies, making Li Yifeng rush off to vomit.
• Murong Feiyan arrived at Easy Origin Hall, recovering well after Hu Xiaotian removed the Fang-Barbed Arrow from her wound.
• Murong Feiyan noticed Li Yifeng vomiting and assumed he was ill from overwork.
• Hu Xiaotian opened his surgical instrument box, prompting Li Yifeng to flee and vomit again.
• Murong Feiyan criticized people who drew salaries without working, and Hu Xiaotian responded by telling her to take off her clothes.

Hu Xiaotian removed Murong Feiyan’s stitches while teasing her, and she left embarrassed and furious. When Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing invited them to a banquet, Li Yifeng saw Hu Xiaotian’s smile and vomited again.

• Murong Feiyan returned to Hu Xiaotian to have her stitches removed, but bristled at his blunt invitation to disrobe.
• Hu Xiaotian persuaded Murong Feiyan to stay, removed and disinfected her stitches, and she grew increasingly embarrassed by his jokes and teasing.
• Hu Xiaotian warned Murong Feiyan to avoid sunbathing while her wound healed, and she called him vulgar and shameless.
• Li Yifeng and Yuan Shiqing arrived to invite Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan to a banquet at the Swallowcloud Tower.
• Li Yifeng recoiled at Hu Xiaotian’s friendly smile, turned away, and vomited.

Hu Xiaotian joined Yuan Shiqing and Murong Feiyan for a meal at Swallowcloud Tower, where he met Zhan Peng, the hunter whose injured father he had helped. Zhan Peng thanked Hu Xiaotian and accepted his invitation to eat with them.

• Murong Feiyan reflected that Hu Xiaotian had treated her wound, but decided that saving his life during the Camel Street attack had balanced the debt between them.
• Hu Xiaotian left Easy Origin Hall with Yuan Shiqing and Murong Feiyan, telling his eight servants not to follow and teasing Murong Feiyan about protecting him.
• Zhan Peng arrived carrying two geese pierced by a single arrow, and Yuan Shiqing introduced him as the son of the old man Hu Xiaotian had rescued.
• Zhan Peng bowed to thank Hu Xiaotian for saving his father, whose injured leg was recovering at Easy Origin Hall.
• Hu Xiaotian invited Zhan Peng to join them at Swallowcloud Tower, and Zhan Peng resolved to pay for their drinks himself.