Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian persuaded Zijuan to impersonate Princess Anping so the surviving Great Kang delegation would not be killed by Li Chenzhou. The survivors learned that Azure Dragon Bay and Cangmu City had fallen to rioters, and Zijuan summoned Hu Xiaotian that night to confront him.

• Li Chenzhou threatened to kill the Great Kang delegation if Princess Anping could not be found, and soldiers brought the surviving Zijuan to him.
• Hu Xiaotian pretended Zijuan was Princess Anping, and Wu Jingshan backed his story while the survivors wept and pleaded for mercy.
• Zijuan understood Hu Xiaotian's deception and played along, striking Wu Jingshan instead of exposing the lie.
• Li Chenzhou accepted Zijuan as Princess Anping, while Hu Xiaotian arranged for Zhan Peng to keep her away from Long Xiyue.
• A Great Yong envoy reported that rioters had occupied Azure Dragon Bay and breached Cangmu City.
• Zijuan summoned Hu Xiaotian to her tent and asked whether he had been disappointed that she survived.

Zijuan confronted Hu Xiaotian over the shipwreck and the attempt on her life, but he persuaded her to keep posing as Princess Anping. Hu Xiaotian then realized Ji Feihua had likely arranged the river attack and was summoned to meet Tang Boxi and Li Chenzhou.

• Zijuan accused Hu Xiaotian of plotting the sinking and sending an assassin after her, while Hu denied ordering the attack and blamed Wen Boyuan for threatening the princess.
• Hu Xiaotian convinced Zijuan to continue pretending to be Princess Anping, and she warned him that she would fight back if he harmed her again.
• Outside the tent, Zhou Mo offered to kill Zijuan, but Hu Xiaotian told him they could not risk touching her yet.
• Hu Xiaotian noticed that Zhao Wusheng's two hundred warriors were missing and concluded that Ji Feihua had used them to attack the ships and eliminate Long Xiyue and Wen Boyuan.
• Liu Yuncai summoned Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jingshan to Tang Boxi's tent, but Wu declined, so Hu went with Zhou Mo offering to accompany him.
• Hu Xiaotian entered the brightly lit command tent, where Tang Boxi welcomed him to join Tang and Li Chenzhou at their table.

Hu Xiaotian attended a tense banquet with Li Chenzhou and Tang Boxi after the shipwreck, resisting their attempts to intimidate him while they pressed the Great Kang delegation to continue to Yong Capital. He accepted that returning to Wuxing Commandery was no longer possible, and the chapter ended with Li Chenzhou urging him to drink.

• Hu Xiaotian calmly answered Li Chenzhou and Tang Boxi’s questions about Wu Jingshan and resisted Tang Boxi’s threats and rough handling.
• Li Chenzhou told Hu Xiaotian that more than three hundred members of the delegation were missing and refused his request to return to Wuxing Commandery, citing unrest there and the approaching wedding.
• Li Chenzhou said Tang Boxi had sent troops to salvage the dowry and insisted that Hu Xiaotian escort Princess Anping to Yong Capital; Hu Xiaotian reluctantly agreed.
• Tang Boxi demanded that Hu Xiaotian drink, but Hu Xiaotian explained that grief for the dead kept him from drinking and denied suspecting that the wine was poisoned.
• Hu Xiaotian poured his wine onto the ground as an offering to the dead, and Li Chenzhou filled his bowl again and urged him to drink.

Hu Xiaotian recounted the attack on the princess’s fleet while Li Chenzhou questioned him and Tang Boxi argued with him. The discussion left the cause of the massacre unresolved, though they suspected a beast tamer and someone seeking to prevent the marriage alliance.

• Hu Xiaotian and Tang Boxi traded drinking bowls while Li Chenzhou declined to drink much.
• Li Chenzhou asked Hu Xiaotian about Wen Boyuan’s death, and Tang Boxi disputed Hu Xiaotian’s account of where it occurred.
• Hu Xiaotian described fishing boats and vultures dropping rocks on the ships, leading Li Chenzhou and Tang Boxi to suspect a beast tamer had directed the attack.
• Li Chenzhou questioned why Hu Xiaotian and the other marriage envoys were not aboard Princess Anping’s ship, and Hu Xiaotian explained that Wen Boyuan had arranged for their ship to protect her if danger arose.
• Hu Xiaotian suggested the princess’s attacker might have wanted to prevent her marriage to the Seventh Prince, prompting Tang Boxi to accuse him of blaming Great Yong.
• Tang Boxi threatened Hu Xiaotian, but Li Chenzhou intervened and had guards escort Tang Boxi away.

After the Yong River disaster, Hu Xiaotian negotiated with Li Chenzhou to protect Princess Anping and keep the surviving Great Kang delegation moving toward the Yong Capital. As the survivors counted the dead, Liu Yuncai refused to let them bury or return the bodies to Great Kang.

• Li Chenzhou and Hu Xiaotian drank together, and Hu promised not to pursue Li's killing of a Great Kang soldier in exchange for help delivering Princess Anping safely.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to camp and reassured Wu Jingshan that the princess was safe and the delegation could survive the crisis.
• Hu Xiaotian, Zhou Mo, and the survivors examined the dead, while Xiong Anmin and Xiong Tianba reported that many had been killed by falling rocks or weapons rather than drowned.
• Liu Yuncai reported that 467 bodies had been recovered and said they would be burned at the fortress.
• Hu Xiaotian asked for land to bury the dead or a ship to take their bodies home, but Liu Yuncai refused both requests under Li Chenzhou's orders.

Hu Xiaotian and the surviving Great Kang warriors arranged a dignified farewell for their dead, while Li Chenzhou offered them burial land and concealed his relationship to Wen Boyuan. Hu Xiaotian then revealed to Long Xiyue the political plot behind the disaster and urged her not to blame herself or Zijuan’s fate.

• Hu Xiaotian led the survivors in sending six soldiers downstream on a burning raft, and Li Chenzhou watched from the camp.
• Li Chenzhou offered to ask General Tang for land to bury the fallen soldiers, and Hu Xiaotian accepted.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Li Chenzhou to return Wen Boyuan’s body, but Li claimed it was being examined because Wen had been murdered.
• Long Xiyue sat watch by the campfire, grieving for the dead and wondering whether the cost of her freedom had been worth it.
• Hu Xiaotian told Long Xiyue that Ji Feihua had ordered him to eliminate Wen Boyuan and had orchestrated the Yong River sinking through Zhao Wusheng.
• Hu Xiaotian told Long Xiyue not to blame herself for the deaths or feel guilty about Zijuan, who had secretly colluded with Wen Boyuan.

Long Xiyue stayed disguised as Zijuan while Hu Xiaotian and the survivors remained at the Nanyang Water Fortress. After choosing a burial site for their dead, Hu learned that Li Chenzhou would escort Princess Anping to the Yong Capital.

• Hu Xiaotian arranged for Long Xiyue to remain disguised as the princess and planned to help her escape, but she insisted on staying by his side.
• Long Xiyue spent the night guarding Hu Xiaotian’s tent, and he left his padded coat over her while she slept.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Mo selected a hill more than three li from the fortress as a burial site, and Liu Yuncai summoned Hu back.
• Hu Xiaotian found Wu Jingshan inventorying the recovered dowry goods and told him to air them out and sort them.
• Li Chenzhou told Hu Xiaotian that the Seventh Prince had ordered him to escort Princess Anping to the Yong Capital.

Li Chenzhou ordered Princess Anping’s party to leave for the Yong Capital that afternoon, and Zijuan agreed to go while continuing to impersonate the princess. The survivors boarded three warships and headed north, leaving a small group behind to handle the dead; Hu Xiaotian remained wary of Li Chenzhou as their journey began.

• Li Chenzhou announced that he would escort Princess Anping to the Yong Capital and ordered the party to depart that afternoon by ship.
• Zijuan, dressed in the princess’s court gown, accepted the rushed departure and challenged Hu Xiaotian to protect her if anyone tried to harm her.
• Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jingshan left Xiong Anmin, Xiong Tianba, and four warriors behind to arrange the dead and carry a letter to Great Kang’s emperor.
• Twenty-nine survivors boarded three warships and traveled north along the canal with Princess Anping’s party.
• Hu Xiaotian destroyed Long Xiyue’s portrait to prevent it from exposing her identity, then teased her through Secret Voice Transmission.
• Li Chenzhou brought medicine for the princess and wore Wen Boyuan’s Tiger Soul Saber, which Hu Xiaotian suspected he had taken for himself.

Hu Xiaotian and Zijuan discussed the dangers surrounding their journey to Great Yong, while Ji Feihua learned that Princess Anping had survived the shipwreck and ordered his agents to stop their operations. At court, news of the disaster left Wen Chenghuan fearing for his son, until a voice announced that the facts had been established.

• Li Chenzhou kept the Tiger Soul saber, saying he would return it to Feng Xingyun and warning Hu Xiaotian not to confront General Wen's killer alone.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Zijuan seasickness medicine and she warned that she might silence the others after marrying the Seventh Prince, while he revealed he had left witnesses behind.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Mo discussed the dangers of Great Yong's succession struggle and planned to seek help from Hu Xiaotian's second brother in the Yong Capital.
• Xin Yi reported to Ji Feihua that Wen Boyuan had died, Princess Anping and Hu Xiaotian had survived, and Long Xiyue was under Yong protection; Ji Feihua ordered all operations to cease.
• At court, Long Yelin reacted to the shipwreck reports, Wen Chenghuan collapsed in fear for his son, and Zhou Ruiyuan called for an investigation before an unseen speaker declared the facts established.

Ji Feihua reported that an attack on the wedding delegation’s ships had killed Wen Boyuan and left Princess Anping among the survivors, prompting Long Yelin to demand an investigation. After court, Ji Feihua and Zhou Ruiyuan discussed the unrest in Wuxing Commandery and the choice of an heir, with Ji making clear that he understood Zhou’s political maneuvers.

• Ji Feihua appeared before the court and reported that the wedding delegation’s ships had been attacked and sunk on the Yong River.
• Ji Feihua said Princess Anping, Lord Wu, and Hu Xiaotian had survived, then revealed that Wen Boyuan had died; Wen Chenghuan collapsed in grief.
• Long Yelin ordered Zhao Dengyun summoned to the Capital City and demanded an investigation into the attack, while Zhou Ruiyuan warned against acting too hastily amid unrest in Wuxing Commandery.
• After court, Zhou Ruiyuan warned Ji Feihua that summoning Zhao Dengyun could worsen the northern crisis, but Ji refused to intervene in state affairs.
• Zhou Ruiyuan asked Ji Feihua about the succession, and Ji said neither the First Prince nor the Third Prince was suitable to become crown prince.

Ji Feihua told Zhou Ruiyuan that Wen Boyuan had secretly expanded his force before the delegation was attacked, while he and Empress Jian discussed the succession and their alliance. Long Tingsheng wrestled with Ji Feihua’s influence until Qiqi summoned him privately, saying she had something serious to tell him.

• Ji Feihua told Zhou Ruiyuan that Wen Boyuan had added two hundred warriors with Zhao Dengyun’s help and suggested the attack had occurred in Great Kang’s waters.
• Empress Jian and Long Tingsheng privately welcomed Wen Boyuan’s death as a blow to their rival Long Tingzhen, though they hid their satisfaction.
• Ji Feihua told Empress Jian that Long Yelin was in poor spirits and that it was not a suitable time to discuss choosing a Crown Prince.
• Empress Jian reflected on her alliance with Ji Feihua as both worked to prevent Long Tingzhen from becoming Crown Prince.
• Long Tingsheng worried that Ji Feihua intended to use him as a puppet, then encountered Qiqi, who threatened to accuse him of searching for the Imperial Seal.
• Qiqi led Long Tingsheng to the Palace of Gathered Elegance, dismissed the attendants, and said she had something serious to tell him.

Qiqi manipulated Long Tingsheng into revealing his ambition for the throne and told him what she had heard about the Retired Emperor, the secret treasury, and the Emperor’s suspicions of him. Ji Feihua warned Empress Jian that the Emperor planned to turn against him, leaving her alarmed by the possibility that he intended to eliminate Ji Feihua.

• Qiqi teased Long Tingsheng about the Crown Prince struggle, then persuaded him to admit that he wanted to become emperor.
• Qiqi told Long Tingsheng that the Retired Emperor had once intended to pass the throne to him and had accused the Emperor of seizing the throne and killing his brother.
• Qiqi said the Emperor distrusted Long Tingsheng and suspected him of secretly colluding with Ji Feihua.
• Ji Feihua told Empress Jian that the Emperor’s visits to the Spirit Firmament Palace were meant to gain the Retired Emperor’s support against him.
• Ji Feihua said the Emperor was preparing to appoint a Crown Prince and eliminate him, startling Empress Jian.

Ji Feihua pressured Empress Jian to help remove Wen Chenghuan and Quan Dean while insisting he sought to protect the emperor. Meanwhile, Hu Xiaotian’s delegation reached the Yong Capital, where Zijuan continued impersonating Princess Anping and ordering him around.

• Ji Feihua warned Empress Jian that the emperor planned to name a Crown Prince and urged her to act decisively, but she refused to harm him.
• Ji Feihua proposed that Empress Jian target Wen Chenghuan and Quan Dean while presenting the plan as a way to cleanse the emperor’s entourage.
• Hu Xiaotian and the Great Kang delegation arrived near the Yong Capital after a safe journey, while Long Xiyue endured the hardships of traveling in disguise.
• Zijuan ordered Hu Xiaotian to massage her, then let him go meet Li Chenzhou after threatening him with another beating.
• Li Chenzhou joked with Hu Xiaotian about Princess Anping’s temper and pointed out that the Yong Capital lay ahead.

Hu Xiaotian challenged Great Yong’s decision to bring Princess Anping into the capital through a side gate, forcing the delegation’s entrance to become a public show of national pride. The party reached Qichen Palace, where Great Yong took control of security and assigned attendants to Zijuan.

• Li Chenzhou told Hu Xiaotian that Princess Anping’s arrival would be kept quiet and that the delegation would enter through a side gate for safety.
• Hu Xiaotian objected to the side-gate entrance, and Wu Jingshan urged him to endure the slight so Zijuan could marry safely.
• Hu Xiaotian announced that the delegation would turn back, but Zijuan rebuked him and then chose to enter through the main gate on foot with Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jingshan.
• Xue Daohong watched from the South Gate tower as Zijuan and the delegation entered through the main gate, while Li Chenzhou followed them into the city.
• At Qichen Palace, Great Yong assigned Zijuan the inner grounds, took over security, and provided four palace maids and a matron to serve her.

After reaching the Yong Capital, Hu Xiaotian kept Zijuan’s identity as the counterfeit Princess Anping concealed while planning to rescue the real princess and return to Great Kang. Growing suspicious of Great Yong’s cold reception, he and Wu Jingshan agreed to investigate the situation before the wedding.

• Zijuan lamented that the real Zijuan had vanished, while Hu Xiaotian reassured her and discussed the upcoming wedding.
• Zijuan dismissed Hu Xiaotian and told him not to visit for several days as Nanny Liu and four palace maids took charge of her care.
• Hu Xiaotian reflected on his plan to have Zijuan marry Xue Daoming while secretly escaping Great Yong with Princess Anping.
• Wu Jingshan warned Hu Xiaotian that Great Yong had neglected to welcome their party and might know the truth about the princess’s identity.
• Hu Xiaotian and Wu Jingshan agreed to investigate Great Yong’s behavior separately, while remaining in the Yong Capital until after the wedding.

Hu Xiaotian went to the Prince of Yan's Residence to use a painting from Yang Lingqi to seek an audience with Xue Shengjing. When the guards refused to let him skip the long queue, a fight broke out and the crowd surrounded him.

• Long Xiyue washed Hu Xiaotian's feet at Qichen Palace, and the two shared a tender moment.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Mo split up the next morning, with Zhou Mo taking Long Xiyue to contact Xiao Tianmu while Hu Xiaotian went to visit Xue Shengjing with Zhan Peng.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived at the Prince of Yan's Residence and found a long queue of people offering treasures for Xue Shengjing to appraise.
• Hu Xiaotian introduced himself to the guards and asked them to deliver his calling card and announce the painting he had brought, but they told him to wait in line.
• A burly man attacked Hu Xiaotian, who kicked him into the crowd; the angry visitors then surged around Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng arrived at the Prince of Yan's Residence, where Hu Xiaotian presented Prince Xue Shengjing with a painting by Yang Lingqi. Xue Shengjing invited Hu Xiaotian inside to talk, leaving the purpose of their meeting unresolved.

• Tie Zheng attacked Hu Xiaotian at the residence gates, but Hu Xiaotian dodged and Zhan Peng stopped Tie Zheng with an arrow.
• Prince Xue Shengjing arrived and examined the visitors' treasures, smashing a counterfeit jar and rewarding an elderly woman for her paperweights.
• Hu Xiaotian introduced himself as a Great Kang Marriage Envoy and offered Xue Shengjing a landscape painting by Yang Lingqi as a gift.
• Hu Xiaotian claimed Yang Lingqi had died before fulfilling his wish to serve Xue Shengjing, and Xue Shengjing accepted the painting.
• Xue Shengjing asked Hu Xiaotian to come inside for a chat, and Hu Xiaotian agreed.

Hu Xiaotian visited Xue Shengjing at the Prince of Yan's Residence, using Yang Lingqi's painting to gain an audience while keeping his request secret. Xue Shengjing's lavish collection and a portrait of Huo Xiaoru caught Hu Xiaotian's attention as they sat down to dine.

• Hu Xiaotian entered the residence with Xue Shengjing while Zhan Peng waited outside.
• Hu Xiaotian spent nearly two hours chatting with Xue Shengjing without revealing why he had come, then tried to leave to visit Liu Changsheng of the Divine Farmer Society.
• Xue Shengjing said Liu Changsheng had also been invited and persuaded Hu Xiaotian to stay for a meal.
• Xue Shengjing showed Hu Xiaotian his expensive garden stones, ebony trunk, jade mountain, and collection of paintings and calligraphy.
• Hu Xiaotian recognized Huo Xiaoru in a portrait by her Pointe Dance and told Xue Shengjing they had met in Kang Capital.

Hu Xiaotian visited Xue Shengjing to gauge Great Yong’s attitude toward Princess Anping’s marriage, but found the prince evasive and the mission deliberately slighted. After Hu left, Xue and Ma Qingyun concluded that he was seeking influence with the imperial family, while the Great Kang Mission awaited a response from the emperor.

• Xue Shengjing learned that Liu Changsheng had suddenly fallen ill and ordered Tie Zheng to investigate whether the physician was pretending.
• Hu Xiaotian presented himself as a marriage envoy, but Xue Shengjing claimed he knew nothing about Princess Anping’s marriage to the Seventh Prince.
• Hu Xiaotian decided Great Yong did not value the alliance as much as Great Kang and tried to make Xue Shengjing need him by hinting at his medical skills.
• Hu Xiaotian left the Prince of Yan’s Residence and met Zhan Peng, who asked how the visit had gone.
• Xue Shengjing admired Hu Xiaotian’s painting and discussed with Ma Qingyun why Hu had come, while Ma explained that the Great Kang Mission had been lodged at Qichen Palace without a response from the imperial family.

Hu Xiaotian delivered Qin Yutong’s letter to Liu Changsheng at the Divine Farmer Society and gained the influential physician’s offer of support in Yong Capital. He then told Liu that he had come to escort Princess Anping for her marriage to Xue Daoming and shared his suspicions that something was wrong.

• Xue Shengjing ordered Tie Zheng to investigate Hu Xiaotian and Liu Changsheng after discussing rumors about Xue Daoming’s marriage and the succession.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng found the Divine Farmer Society and asked to deliver Qin Yutong’s letter directly to Liu Changsheng.
• Liu Yucheng welcomed Hu Xiaotian and Zhan Peng, explaining that his father had broken his right leg while gathering herbs.
• Hu Xiaotian delivered Qin Yutong’s letter, and Liu Changsheng offered to help him with any trouble in Yong Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian told Liu Changsheng that he had come to escort Princess Anping for her marriage to Xue Daoming and said he felt something was wrong.