Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian learned that Great Yong had ordered the Great Kang mission to leave Qichen Palace, then confronted Nanny Liu and discussed the insult with Zijuan. Zijuan refused to leave with the mission, and Hu Xiaotian ended their exchange by deciding he would rather go than endure the situation.

• Hu Xiaotian told Liu Changsheng about the mission's poor treatment, and Liu agreed to investigate Great Yong's reasons.
• Hu Xiaotian returned to Qichen Palace and learned that the mission had been ordered to move out by the next day.
• Hu Xiaotian forced his way past Nanny Liu, slapped her, and ordered her to kneel after Zijuan rebuked her.
• Hu Xiaotian told Zijuan that Great Yong's order might leave her isolated, but Zijuan said she would follow her husband's family's arrangements.
• Hu Xiaotian said he would leave rather than stay and endure the scorn, and Zijuan told him to scram.

Hu Xiaotian led the Great Kang delegation out of Qichen Palace after its steward ordered them to leave, then arranged to use hidden dowry silver to buy a house in Yong Capital. The group waited for Zhou Mo and Long Xiyue to return and left their future plans unsettled as Hu Xiaotian prepared to spend the remaining silver.

• Hu Xiaotian slapped the post station steward after the steward threatened to expel the delegation, and the Great Kang warriors rallied behind him.
• Cao Xi arrived, blamed the steward for offending Hu Xiaotian, and claimed that only the other warriors were meant to find lodgings elsewhere.
• Hu Xiaotian led the delegation out of Qichen Palace, and Wu Jingshan agreed to share their hardships despite worrying about the princess still inside.
• Hu Xiaotian told Wu Jingshan he had secretly omitted a chest from the dowry inventory and would use its silver to support the delegation.
• Zhou Mo and Long Xiyue returned, and Hu Xiaotian announced that they would buy a house instead of seeking an inn.

Hu Xiaotian brought Long Xiyue and the surviving Marriage Envoys to the South Wind Inn, where he reunited with Gao Yuan and privately shared a tender moment with Long Xiyue. At a banquet, he won the warriors’ loyalty and warned that Great Yong might create further dangers before the wedding, while offering anyone afraid the chance to leave.

• Hu Xiaotian’s party arrived at the newly purchased South Wind Inn, where Gao Yuan welcomed them, and Hu booked the entire inn with a gold ingot.
• Hu Xiaotian showed Long Xiyue the six chests of her valuable dowry goods and promised that he would always love her; she agreed to sleep beside him each night.
• Wu Jingshan toasted the survivors, who credited Hu Xiaotian with bringing them safely to the Yong Capital, and Hu thanked them for their shared efforts.
• Hu Xiaotian promised to share responsibility with Wu Jingshan if Great Kang blamed the delegation for its heavy losses.
• Hu Xiaotian warned the warriors that Great Yong might cause trouble before Princess Anping’s wedding and offered travel funds to anyone who wished to leave.

Hu Xiaotian uncovered a possible plot to obstruct Long Xiyue’s marriage alliance and reunited with his sworn brothers in the Yong Capital. The group suspected Xue Daoming and the Worthy Consort were behind the delegation’s cold reception, and Hu Xiaotian sought a way to resolve the crisis and return safely to Great Kang.

• Yan Fei drunkenly confessed that Wen Boyuan had plotted against Hu Xiaotian and Princess Anping, but Hu Xiaotian dismissed the revelations and focused on the immediate crisis.
• Hu Xiaotian suggested that Great Kang’s envoy had not been informed of Princess Anping’s arrival, leading Wu Jingshan to suspect someone had concealed it to interfere with the marriage alliance.
• Hu Xiaotian secretly led Long Xiyue through the rear gate to Treasure Abundance Hall, where she reunited with Zhou Mo and met Xiao Tianmu.
• Xiao Tianmu explained that Xue Daoming and the Worthy Consort opposed the marriage alliance and might be responsible for the delegation’s cold treatment.
• Hu Xiaotian asked his brothers to help him find a way to settle the matter and return safely to Great Kang with Long Xiyue.

Hu Xiaotian and his allies worried that Zijuan had become an unpredictable threat, while Long Xiyue refused to leave the Yong Capital without him. The next morning, Hu Xiaotian tried to visit Zijuan at Qichen Palace but was turned away by Cao Xi.

• Xiao Tianmu urged Hu Xiaotian to leave the Yong Capital before their plans were exposed, but Hu Xiaotian said he and Wu Jingshan had to stay and worried about Long Xiyue.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Long Xiyue to leave first, but she refused to abandon him, and they discussed how strangely Zijuan had changed since the ship sank on the Yong River.
• Long Xiyue described a distinctive feature of Zijuan's body, but she denied that Zijuan seemed like a different person to her.
• Before dawn, Long Xiyue put on her disguise while Hu Xiaotian watched, then he said he would visit Qichen Palace to investigate Zijuan.
• Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Mo arrived at Qichen Palace, where Cao Xi barred them from entering and said Zijuan was occupied with preparations for her wedding attire to marry the Seventh Prince.

Hu Xiaotian and Liu Yucheng sought General Yuchi Chong’s help after Great Yong mistreated the marriage delegation, but they learned that Liu Changsheng had disappeared from his locked courtyard. Zhou Mo found evidence suggesting Liu Changsheng had escaped over the walls, and Tie Zheng arrived at the Divine Farmer Society demanding to know where he was.

• Hu Xiaotian met Liu Yucheng at the Spring River Teahouse, where Liu offered to take him to General Yuchi Chong for help with the delegation’s treatment.
• Liu Bao reported that Liu Changsheng had vanished from his locked courtyard along with his Medical Kit, so Liu Yucheng and Hu Xiaotian hurried to the Divine Farmer Society.
• Zhou Mo found footprints, traces of mud, and a piece of Liu Changsheng’s robe on a tree, leading him to suspect Liu Changsheng had gone over the walls despite his injured leg.
• Liu Yucheng said his father knew no martial arts and had no enemies, while Hu Xiaotian and Zhou Mo began searching for further clues.
• Tie Zheng arrived from the Prince of Yan’s Residence and challenged Liu Yucheng’s claim that his injured father was absent.

Liu Yucheng went with Hu Xiaotian to Benevolence Garden after the Prince of Yan summoned him to treat Empress Dowager Jiang, while Liu Changsheng remained missing. They reached Benevolent Grace Palace, where Eunuch Dong received them and asked whether the Empress Dowager was in the hall.

• Tie Zheng accused Liu Yucheng of evading the Prince of Yan and ordered him to treat Empress Dowager Jiang at Benevolence Garden.
• Hu Xiaotian accompanied Liu Yucheng, hoping to help with the treatment and meet Empress Dowager Jiang, Xue Shengkang’s mother.
• On the way, Hu Xiaotian suspected that Xue Shengjing had arranged Liu Changsheng’s disappearance to punish him for refusing the prince’s invitation.
• Eunuch Dong criticized the Prince of Yan for failing to visit his mother and told Tie Zheng to pass along his rebuke.
• After their belongings were searched, Hu Xiaotian and Liu Yucheng entered Benevolent Grace Palace, where Eunuch Dong asked whether the Empress Dowager was in the hall.

Hu Xiaotian accompanied Liu Yucheng to examine Empress Dowager Jiang’s inward-growing eyelashes and claimed he could cure them at the root. He explained that lifting her drooping eyelid would turn the lashes outward, leaving the treatment poised for her response.

• Eunuch Dong led Liu Yucheng and Hu Xiaotian to the Heart-Nourishing Pavilion, where they met Empress Dowager Jiang and Huo Shengnan.
• Liu Yucheng examined Empress Dowager Jiang and said that plucking her inward-growing eyelashes was the only treatment he knew.
• Huo Shengnan criticized the Divine Farmer Society after Liu Yucheng could not offer a permanent cure, and Hu Xiaotian declared that he could treat the condition at its root.
• Hu Xiaotian flattered Empress Dowager Jiang until she laughed, then explained that lifting her drooping eyelid would turn her eyelashes outward and stop them from rubbing against her eyes.

Hu Xiaotian proposed double-eyelid surgery to cure Empress Dowager Jiang’s ingrowing eyelashes, and she ordered him to proceed. With the instruments quickly made and Liu Yucheng supplying anesthetic and healing balm, Hu Xiaotian prepared for the operation while Huo Shengnan kept a suspicious watch over him.

• Hu Xiaotian told Empress Dowager Jiang he could cure her ingrowing eyelashes by removing and stitching skin above her eyelids, and she agreed to the procedure.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Eunuch Dong to have surgical instruments made and discussed anesthesia and wound-healing medicine with Liu Yucheng.
• Huo Shengnan confronted Hu Xiaotian and Liu Yucheng, warning them not to harm Empress Dowager Jiang.
• Eunuch Dong returned with instruments made to Hu Xiaotian’s drawings, and Hu Xiaotian sterilized them.
• Hu Xiaotian complained to Huo Shengnan that he and Liu Yucheng needed food before he operated on Empress Dowager Jiang.

Hu Xiaotian operated on Empress Dowager Jiang to create double eyelids and treat her inward-growing eyelashes, then stayed at the Benevolence Garden while she recovered. Liu Yucheng left to seek help for his father, and Hu Xiaotian was awakened by urgent knocking before dawn.

• Huo Shengnan had pastries brought for Hu Xiaotian and the others before Hu Xiaotian operated on Empress Dowager Jiang using the incision method.
• Hu Xiaotian finished the surgery, instructed the palace staff on postoperative care, and persuaded Eunuch Dong to let Liu Yucheng return to the Divine Farmer Society.
• Hu Xiaotian told Liu Yucheng to inform Zhou Mo of his situation and advised him to seek General Yuchi's help for his father while avoiding a public disturbance.
• Hu Xiaotian checked on Empress Dowager Jiang, reassured her about the operation, and was ordered to eat and rest by her.
• Hu Xiaotian ate with Eunuch Dong and Huo Shengnan, then slept at the Benevolence Garden until urgent knocking woke him before dawn.

Hu Xiaotian removed Empress Dowager Jiang’s stitches and relieved her itching, then watched her delight in her new appearance. After she rewarded him and the Divine Farmer Society, Hu Xiaotian tried to leave to search for Liu Changsheng, and Empress Dowager Jiang learned that the clinic master had disappeared.

• Eunuch Dong summoned Hu Xiaotian because Empress Dowager Jiang’s eyes had begun itching.
• Hu Xiaotian removed the gauze and stitches, confirmed that Empress Dowager Jiang’s wounds had healed, and used Liu Yucheng’s medicine to stop the itching.
• Empress Dowager Jiang opened her eyes and happily praised her new double eyelids after examining herself in a mirror.
• Empress Dowager Jiang awarded Hu Xiaotian a hundred taels of gold and promised the Divine Farmer Society a plaque reading “Miraculous Healing.”
• Hu Xiaotian declined to stay for lunch because Liu Changsheng had disappeared, and Empress Dowager Jiang asked whether Master Liu was missing.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan left the Benevolence Garden to investigate the disappearance of Hall Master Liu Changsheng, after the Prince of Yan briefly tried to have Hu Xiaotian arrested. They arrived at the Divine Farmer Society, where Fan Ling'er recognized Huo Shengnan as her idol.

• Empress Dowager Jiang ordered Huo Shengnan to help Hu Xiaotian search for Hall Master Liu Changsheng, and the two left the palace together.
• The Prince of Yan exposed Hu Xiaotian as Great Kang’s marriage envoy and ordered Tie Zheng to arrest him, but Huo Shengnan defended Hu Xiaotian because he had cured the Empress Dowager.
• The Prince of Yan withdrew his accusation and invited Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan to visit the Empress Dowager, but they continued on their urgent errand.
• Hu Xiaotian explained to Huo Shengnan that he had accompanied Liu Yucheng to the Benevolence Garden after Hall Master Liu disappeared, while Huo Shengnan questioned his connection to the Prince of Yan.
• At the Divine Farmer Society, Fan Ling'er greeted Hu Xiaotian and excitedly praised Huo Shengnan for her military victories.

Huo Shengnan and Hu Xiaotian investigated the abduction of Clinic Master Liu, then were ambushed in Pooled Water Alley. Hu Xiaotian returned to help Huo Shengnan, but archers turned their weapons on him as an arrow flew toward his throat.

• Huo Shengnan, Hu Xiaotian, Liu Yucheng, and Bai Jingxuan discussed Clinic Master Liu’s disappearance and suspected that he had been abducted to treat someone.
• Huo Shengnan set out to search for Clinic Master Liu, while Hu Xiaotian rode with her toward South Wind Tower.
• Huo Xiaotian sensed danger in Pooled Water Alley and urged Huo Shengnan to ride ahead, then Huo Shengnan blocked three arrows and fought a saber-wielding attacker.
• Four masked archers joined the attack and pinned Huo Shengnan down with a barrage of arrows and saber strikes.
• Hu Xiaotian doubled back across the rooftops to help Huo Shengnan, but two archers spotted him and one fired an arrow at his throat.

Hu Xiaotian and Huo Shengnan defeated a group of Black Hu assassins who had attacked her, and her opinion of him warmed after he risked his life to help. The Women's Army escorted them to the South Wind Inn, where Hu Xiaotian reunited with Gao Yuan.

• Hu Xiaotian dodged the rooftop archers' arrows, killed two of them, and used a corpse as a shield while charging the others.
• Huo Shengnan fought the Horse-Cleaving Saber attacker, injured him with punches and sword strikes, and knocked him unconscious.
• Hu Xiaotian defeated the remaining archers as Huo Shengnan identified the captured attackers as Black Hu people and ordered them taken away for questioning.
• Chang Hongzhu and the Women's Army arrived, and Huo Shengnan offered to escort Hu Xiaotian to the South Wind Inn in case the assassins' accomplices sought revenge.
• Hu Xiaotian arrived at the inn with Huo Shengnan's escort, and Gao Yuan asked where his horse had come from.

Hu Xiaotian returned from meeting Empress Dowager Jiang and discussed the endangered marriage alliance with Wu Jingshan, who feared the princess was being kept under guard at Qichen Palace. When Ma Qingyun invited Hu to the Prince of Yan’s Residence, Hu refused and dismissed him, leaving Wu alarmed that Hu had offended the emperor’s brother.

• Hu Xiaotian returned to the South Wind Inn with the gold Empress Dowager Jiang had awarded him and reassured Long Xiyue.
• Wu Jingshan told Hu Xiaotian that the guards at Qichen Palace had barred him from seeing the princess and suspected the Worthy Consort opposed the marriage alliance.
• Hu Xiaotian assured Wu Jingshan that the alliance would proceed and said they needed to make Great Yong’s emperor aware that the princess had arrived.
• Ma Qingyun invited Hu Xiaotian to the Prince of Yan’s Residence, but Hu refused and suggested the prince visit him instead.
• Hu Xiaotian had Zhan Peng see Ma Qingyun out, and Wu Jingshan warned him that the Prince of Yan was Empress Dowager Jiang’s son and the emperor’s full brother.

Hu Xiaotian made the Prince of Yan wait before agreeing to see him, then confronted him about Liu Changsheng’s disappearance. Xue Shengjing privately admitted that he had an unbearable itch in his lower body and asked Hu Xiaotian to treat him.

• Hu Xiaotian told Long Xiyue he was not afraid of Xue Shengjing and promised to bring her safely back to Great Kang.
• When Xue Shengjing arrived at the South Wind Inn, Hu Xiaotian claimed to be napping and made the prince wait more than half a double-hour.
• Xue Shengjing entered alone and thanked Hu Xiaotian for treating Empress Dowager Jiang, while Hu Xiaotian questioned him about the missing Liu Changsheng.
• Hu Xiaotian asked his companions to leave after Xue Shengjing admitted he wanted medical treatment.
• Behind a screen, Xue Shengjing confessed that he had an unbearable itch below the waist.

Hu Xiaotian used the Prince of Yan’s illness to pressure him into searching for Liu Changsheng, then set out for Qichen Palace with Zhan Peng and Zhao Chongwu to stir up trouble. Xue Shengjing waited outside, concealing his anger as Tie Zheng questioned why he tolerated Hu Xiaotian’s arrogance.

• Hu Xiaotian questioned Xue Shengjing and concluded that his month-long illness had come from visiting brothels.
• Hu Xiaotian joked that Xue Shengjing could cure himself by being castrated, then told him to avoid women and undergo surgery after his condition stabilized.
• Xue Shengjing promised to find Liu Changsheng before sunset in exchange for Hu Xiaotian treating his illness.
• Hu Xiaotian instructed Zhan Peng and Zhao Chongwu to start a fight at Qichen Palace and told Gao Yuan to discard the stool and tea utensils Xue Shengjing had used.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Xue Shengjing to wait outside Qichen Palace while he and his companions rode ahead; Tie Zheng asked why Xue Shengjing was being so courteous to him.

Hu Xiaotian forced his way into Qichen Palace to see Princess Anping, using a fight with the guards to make Xue Shengjing intervene on his behalf. Xue Shengjing backed him publicly and learned that Eunuch Fang of Kunyu Palace had ordered the princess’s guards to bar Hu Xiaotian.

• Xue Shengjing ordered Tie Zheng to search for Curator Liu after promising Hu Xiaotian they would look for him before sunset.
• Hu Xiaotian and his men fought their way past Qichen Palace’s guards after they refused to let him see Princess Anping.
• When the post station steward called the Great Kang envoys rebels, Hu Xiaotian slapped him, and Xue Shengjing arrived to support Hu Xiaotian.
• Hu Xiaotian claimed the guards had mistreated him and threatened to take Princess Anping back to Great Kang, prompting Xue Shengjing to rebuke Cao Xi and let Hu enter the palace.
• Xue Shengjing questioned Cao Xi and learned that Eunuch Fang of Kunyu Palace had ordered the guards to block Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian confronted Zijuan about the blocked marriage alliance and insisted he would remain in Yong Capital until her wedding, while she rejected his attempts to control her future. He then gave Xue Shengjing a bogus treatment regimen to punish him, leaving the Prince of Yan believing he had to masturbate three times a day for a week.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that the Worthy Consort and her son opposed Zijuan's marriage and that someone was concealing the delegation's arrival in Yong Capital.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Zijuan, who accused him of arranging her future for his own sake and declared that she wanted freedom.
• Hu Xiaotian refused to leave Yong Capital before Zijuan's wedding, and she warned him that he would regret staying.
• Liu Changsheng returned safely to the Divine Farmer Society and revealed that his leg had never been broken.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Xue Shengjing Three-Whip Kidney Treasure Pills and told him to masturbate three times a day for seven days to flush out imaginary toxins.

Hu Xiaotian visited Liu Changsheng after agreeing to treat Xue Shengjing, and discussed his surgical methods and the danger of dealing with the Prince of Yan. The chapter ended as Huo Shengnan arrived to visit Liu Changsheng on behalf of Yuchi Chong.

• Hu Xiaotian visited the Divine Farmer Society and met Fan Mingyu before Liu Yucheng took him to see Liu Changsheng, whose right leg had been broken.
• Hu Xiaotian drew his medical instruments for Liu Changsheng, who compared one knife to a tool once used by the late Ghost Physician Fu Wan.
• Liu Changsheng questioned Hu Xiaotian's surgical methods, while Liu Yucheng argued that saving lives mattered more than preserving an injured body part.
• Hu Xiaotian told Liu Changsheng he had agreed to treat Xue Shengjing, and Liu Changsheng warned him that the prince was calculating and vindictive.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Liu Changsheng to supply wound medicine for Xue Shengjing's operation, and Liu Changsheng agreed.
• Huo Shengnan arrived to visit Liu Changsheng on behalf of her adoptive father, Commander-in-Chief Yuchi Chong.