Chapter Summaries

Hu Xiaotian posed as a wealthy jade merchant and encouraged Liu Zhiyang, Gu Jiayuan, and their companions to bring him jewelry, while gathering information about the sealed Treasure-Gathering Studio. By evening, they had returned with goods they had bought or borrowed money to acquire, and Hu Xiaotian announced that he would buy everything.

• Li Mingju rebuked Gu Jiayuan, Liu Zhiyang, and the others for trying to cheat Hu Xiaotian, then privately warned Hu Xiaotian that their jewelry was overpriced.
• Liu Zhiyang visited Hu Xiaotian, who praised his honesty, asked him about reliable sources of jewelry, and offered to pay thirty percent above market price.
• Liu Zhiyang, Gu Jiayuan, and their companions left to buy jewelry, while Hu Xiaotian drew information from them about the sealed Treasure-Gathering Studio and its staff being taken to the Ministry of Justice.
• Liu Zhiyang, Gu Jiayuan, and the others returned to the Welcome Immortal carrying jewelry they had bought with Hu Xiaotian's money and their own, including borrowed funds.
• Hu Xiaotian inspected the bundles, took out a thick stack of banknotes, and said he would buy everything they had brought.

Hu Xiaotian exposed Liu Zhiyang and Gu Jiayuan’s attempt to profit from reselling worthless goods, then sought Li Mingju’s help contacting the Treasure-Gathering Studio’s manager. Li Mingju returned home and learned his father planned to send him to Great Kang for safety, but he refused as Li Changxing faced the dangerous investigation into Chancellor Yuan’s case.

• Hu Xiaotian offered Liu Zhiyang and Gu Jiayuan one tael for their goods, revealed their failed scheme, and drove them away after threatening them with his saber.
• Hu Xiaotian told Li Mingju he wanted to meet the Treasure-Gathering Studio’s manager and warned that the investigation into Chancellor Yuan’s case could be dangerous.
• Li Mingju said he would consult his father, while Hu Xiaotian secretly followed him to the Li Residence.
• Li Changxing told Li Mingju he planned to send him to Great Kang with Uncle Yang to keep him out of danger.
• Li Mingju refused to leave and challenged his father’s decision to accept the investigation, while questioning the King’s motives for implicating the Treasure-Gathering Studio.

Li Mingju warned his father, Li Changxing, against the ruler’s plans and asked to meet someone connected to the Treasure-Gathering Studio, while Hu Xiaotian gathered intelligence in Sea-Viewing City. The chapter ended with Hu Xiaotian meeting Yu Wanli, who introduced himself as the owner of the Fortune Den.

• Li Mingju argued that using outsiders to interfere in the Bohai Kingdom’s affairs would bring greater losses, and Li Changxing warned him to keep such opinions private.
• Li Mingju refused to travel to the Central Plains and asked Li Changxing to arrange a meeting with a relative of the Treasure-Gathering Studio’s proprietor, but Li Changxing refused because the studio was linked to Yuan Tianzhao and Python Jiao Island.
• Hu Xiaotian and Xia Changming discussed their inquiries over dinner; Hu Xiaotian planned to visit the Sea God Temple and seek the abbot, while Xia Changming prepared horses and a carriage.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xia Changming to stay at a separate inn, then faced a carriage and seven men who tried to provoke him; he dodged their attacks until a middle-aged scholar stopped them.
• Yu Wanli apologized for his men and told Hu Xiaotian that he ran the Fortune Den, a gambling house where he also lent money.

Hu Xiaotian sought Yu Wanli’s help to learn about the Treasure-Gathering Studio and arrange a prison visit, while his other efforts to find leads in Sea-Viewing City failed. Yu Wanli arranged for Hu Xiaotian to enter the Ministry of Justice prison disguised as a physician so he could meet Tong Jincheng and Ling Sanniang.

• Hu Xiaotian met gambling-house owner Yu Wanli, who revealed that Gu Jiayuan had borrowed money from him before being swindled.
• Hu Xiaotian offered Yu Wanli money for information about the Treasure-Gathering Studio, and Yu Wanli explained how its people were implicated in Yuan Tianzhao’s case.
• Yu Wanli agreed to arrange a meeting with Tong Jincheng and Ling Sanniang in the Ministry of Justice prison.
• Hu Xiaotian learned that the Sea God Temple keeper had been arrested, while Xia Changming found no trace of Ling Sanniang’s scattered followers.
• Yu Wanli brought Hu Xiaotian a scholar’s robe and medicine chest and explained that Hu would enter the prison disguised as a physician.

Hu Xiaotian entered the Ministry of Justice Prison disguised as a physician and gathered information from Tong Jincheng and Ling Sanniang about the Prince of Yan’s enemies and hidden operations. After leaving their cells, he was unexpectedly asked to treat Minister Li Changxing, whose elbow had been dislocated.

• Hu Xiaotian treated Tong Jincheng’s wounds and learned that Huo Xiaoru was at Yanxi Hall and that account books were hidden at the Treasure-Gathering Studio’s front gate.
• Hu Xiaotian secretly told Ling Sanniang that Yan Tianlu was safe, and she warned him about Yan Dongsheng’s powerful allies and directed him to Feng Laodao at Feng's Blacksmith Shop.
• Ling Sanniang gave Hu Xiaotian an earring as proof of her identity and asked him to tell Yan Tianlu to burn incense for her if she died.
• Two warriors mistook Hu Xiaotian for an ordinary physician and brought him to treat Li Changxing after the minister fell and injured his arm.
• Hu Xiaotian examined Li Changxing and diagnosed his swollen elbow as dislocated rather than fractured.

Hu Xiaotian treated Li Changxing in prison, concealed his identity from Li Mingju, and gathered contacts and intelligence in Sea-Viewing City. After meeting Feng Laodao about Ling Sanniang, he learned that Xue Lingjun had returned to the city and suspected her visit was connected to the Treasure-Gathering Studio affair.

• Hu Xiaotian reset Li Changxing's dislocated elbow, then persuaded Li Mingju to keep his identity secret when they met at the prison.
• Hu Xiaotian gave Yu Wanli money to investigate visiting figures from Great Yong and the Bohai Kingdom's state preceptor.
• Hu Xiaotian visited Feng Laodao with Ling Sanniang's earring and told him she was safe and had asked them not to rescue her.
• Hu Xiaotian asked Feng Laodao to contact Yan Tianlu, then gave him the Welcome Immortal as a place to reach him.
• Xia Changming told Hu Xiaotian that Xue Lingjun had returned to Lookout Sea-Viewing City, and Hu Xiaotian considered whether her visit had been coordinated with Xue Daohong.

Hu Xiaotian investigated Yanxi Hall and learned that Xue Lingjun and Great Yong envoy Li Chenzhou had arrived in Sea-Viewing City. He reunited with Yan Nujiao and met Yan Tianlu aboard a merchant vessel, where they began discussing Yan Xuanming.

• Hu Xiaotian learned that Xiang Shancong owned Yanxi Hall and sent Xia Changming to Ji Province with a portrait of Huo Xiaoru.
• Yu Wanli told Hu Xiaotian that Xue Lingjun and Li Chenzhou had arrived in Sea-Viewing City, leading him to suspect Xue Daohong had arranged the princess's mission for his own purposes.
• Hu Xiaotian received Feng Laodao's cryptic invitation to Huanghua Harbor and followed a boy's directions to a boat, where he found Yan Nujiao.
• Yan Nujiao reunited with Hu Xiaotian and explained that she had come to the Bohai Kingdom because she believed her brother, Yan Boguang, was there.
• Yan Nujiao led Hu Xiaotian to Yan Tianlu aboard a merchant vessel, where Yan Tianlu teased him about not bringing Yan Xuanming back to Python Jiao Island.

Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu formed an alliance to rescue Python Jiao Island’s captives and thwart Xue Daohong’s scheme by approaching Xue Lingjun. The next morning, Yan Nujiao arrived posing as Hu Xiaotian’s wife and took him to a new house with a lavish entourage.

• Hu Xiaotian met Yan Tianlu in Sea-Viewing City, returned Ling Sanniang’s earring, and warned him about Yan Dongsheng’s allies and the wider plot behind the Yuan Tianzhao Case.
• Hu Xiaotian persuaded Yan Tianlu to help restore the political balance, while he sought an open meeting with Xue Lingjun under a convincing identity.
• Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu agreed to thwart Yan Dongsheng and Xue Daohong, and Yan Tianlu arranged for his people to watch Li Chenzhou.
• Yan Nujiao arrived at the Welcome Immortal pretending to be Hu Xiaotian’s jealous wife and told him Yan Tianlu had prepared a house and a jeweler identity for him.
• Hu Xiaotian left the inn with Yan Nujiao and saw three luxurious carriages and more than a dozen servants waiting outside.

Hu Xiaotian arrived at Spring Garden with Yan Nujiao, learned about the powerful host of the evening banquet, and went to meet Bohai’s elite in disguise. At the banquet, he saw that Zou Yong strongly resembled Tang Jingyu and wondered whether the two were connected.

• Yan Nujiao and Hu Xiaotian arrived at Spring Garden posing as a married couple, and she showed him a map of Mirrorwater Estate and explained Zou Yong’s influence and rumored relationship with the Queen Mother.
• Hu Xiaotian transferred internal power to Yan Nujiao before leaving for the banquet, where Xue Lingjun was expected to appear.
• Hu Xiaotian presented his invitation and mingled with Wang the Fat and other merchants while searching for Xue Lingjun.
• Hu Xiaotian saw Zou Yong at Hundred Flowers Terrace and noticed his resemblance to Tang Jingyu, prompting him to wonder about their connection.

At Zou Yong’s banquet, Hu Xiaotian watched Bohai and Great Yong’s guests discuss the two countries’ plans to reclaim territory from Great Kang and suppress Python Jiao Island. He challenged Li Guoyuan’s faith in Great Yong’s support, leaving the gathering poised for a debate over whether nations could rely on friendship or only their own strength.

• Hu Xiaotian introduced himself to Zou Yong as the Qiao Family’s representative and reunited with Wang the Fat at the banquet.
• Xue Lingjun and Yan Dongqing arrived together, and Zou Yong introduced Xue Lingjun to the guests as the Eldest Princess of Great Yong.
• Xue Lingjun praised the friendship between Great Yong and Bohai, while Yan Dongqing invited the guests to discuss their countries’ future.
• Li Guoyuan urged Bohai to join Great Yong in reclaiming maritime territory from Great Kang and dismissed concerns about Python Jiao Island.
• Hu Xiaotian laughed at Li Guoyuan’s arguments, then challenged his claim that Bohai could depend on Great Yong, insisting that nations had to rely on themselves and their interests.

Hu Xiaotian challenged the Bohai scholars’ assumptions about Great Yong and argued that several rival powers could prevent it from unifying the Central Plains. Xue Lingjun recognized him and publicly revealed their intimate familiarity, then took the seat beside him.

• Hu Xiaotian rebuked Li Guoyuan’s proposal for a Great Yong–Bohai alliance and compared the kingdoms’ unequal positions to merchants entering a partnership.
• Hu Xiaotian argued that Great Yong might not unify the Central Plains, citing Great Kang, the Fragrant Kingdom, Li Tianheng’s Western Sichuan, Great Yong’s change of rulers, and Black Hu’s preparations.
• Xue Lingjun recognized Hu Xiaotian’s familiar gaze and challenged him about his origins; after he said her ancestors also came from Kang, she ordered the guards to seize him.
• Hu Xiaotian reminded Xue Lingjun that he had left without saying goodbye, and she shifted from anger to playful teasing, making the guests suspect they had a past together.
• Xue Lingjun rose and sat beside Hu Xiaotian, while Wang the Fat gave up his seat and trembled as he left.

Xue Lingjun met Hu Xiaotian privately after leaving Zou Yong’s banquet, where he warned her that the Bohai Kingdom might be plotting against her and that Xue Daohong could turn against her and Xue Shengjing. She admitted that she had been followed since arriving in Bohai, and began to suspect her family’s political influence had made the new emperor wary of them.

• Xue Lingjun left Zou Yong’s banquet with Hu Xiaotian and took him to Fuqing Tower.
• Hu Xiaotian questioned Xue Lingjun about Li Chenzhou’s arrival and the Treasure-Gathering Studio affair, then argued that someone in Great Yong was backing Yan Dongsheng against the Prince of Yan.
• Hu Xiaotian warned that Xue Daohong might turn against Xue Lingjun and Xue Shengjing now that he had secured the throne, and cautioned that the Bohai Kingdom might endanger her.
• Hu Xiaotian advised Xue Lingjun to announce that she would leave Bohai to test whether the kingdom would let her go safely.
• Xue Lingjun revealed that someone had been secretly following her since she entered Bohai and considered that Empress Dowager Jiang’s plan for her and Xue Shengjing to take a greater role in court affairs might have provoked Xue Daohong’s suspicion.

Zou Yong and Yan Dongqing plotted to use Hu Dafu’s connection to Xue Lingjun, while Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao staged a public marital quarrel to help him get closer to the princess. After rumors damaged Xue Lingjun’s reputation, she grew wary of the Bohai authorities, and Zou Yong visited Hu Dafu to ask about Wanchanglong’s business plans.

• Zou Yong met Yan Dongqing at Mirrorwater Estate, where they discussed making him bewitch Xue Lingjun and the suspicious closeness between her and Hu Dafu.
• Yan Nujiao stormed into Fuqing Tower, acted like a jealous wife, and slapped Hu Xiaotian before Xue Lingjun slapped him too.
• Hu Xiaotian and Yan Nujiao reconciled in their carriage, while stories about Qiao Xianglian and Xue Lingjun fighting over a husband spread through Wangjiang City.
• Xue Lingjun used the scandal to propose leaving Bohai, but the authorities urged her to stay, deepening her suspicion that Xue Daohong had planned the mission to eliminate her.
• Zou Yong visited Hu Dafu at Spring Garden, heard that his wife had left, and asked about Wanchanglong’s plans to trade jewelry in Bohai.

Hu Xiaotian maneuvered to gain access to the Treasure-Gathering Studio’s confiscated wealth while drawing closer to Xue Lingjun, who feared that Bohai’s court would prevent her return to Great Yong. Li Chenzhou coordinated a plot with Zou Yong and Tang Jingyu to secure power in Bohai and move against their enemies.

• Hu Xiaotian showed Zou Yong a stack of banknotes as they discussed the jewels sealed inside the Treasure-Gathering Studio.
• Xue Lingjun rebuked Guo Zhenhai for questioning her conduct, then left with Hu Xiaotian despite her guards’ suspicions.
• At the Sea God Temple, Hu Xiaotian told Xue Lingjun that Bohai’s court would try to keep her from returning and that the danger to her was growing.
• Guo Zhenhai reported Xue Lingjun’s movements to Li Chenzhou, who warned him to conceal their connection and said she could not leave yet.
• At the Mirrorwater Estate, Li Chenzhou, Zou Yong, and Tang Jingyu planned to force Li Changxing’s cooperation by taking control of his son, Li Mingju, and discussed using Yan Boguang to lure Yan Tianlu.

Hu Xiaotian warned Xue Lingjun that Guo Zhenhai might be working for Li Chenzhou, but she refused to act without solid evidence. After she left him at the Sea-Rhyme Restaurant, an unknown archer attacked Li Mingju, and Hu Xiaotian rushed him inside to escape the arrows.

• Li Chenzhou told Zou Yong to encourage Hu Dafu’s suspicious interest in the Treasure-Gathering Studio so he would reveal more of his plans.
• Xiao Lizhi told Hu Xiaotian that Guo Zhenhai had met Li Chenzhou, prompting Hu to warn Xue Lingjun that her deputy commander might be spying on her.
• Hu Xiaotian urged Xue Lingjun to eliminate Guo Zhenhai, but she said he had provided no solid evidence and left the restaurant with Guo and the Golden Scale Guards.
• Li Mingju arrived at the restaurant, and Hu Xiaotian shouted for him to get down when an arrow shot toward his throat.
• Hu Xiaotian deflected the arrow with his blade energy, then pulled Li Mingju inside as two more arrows struck the restaurant doors.

Hu Xiaotian saved Li Mingju from an assassin, but Gu Jiayuan was killed and Li Changxing was found dead at the Li Residence. Zou Yong and Tang Jingyu discussed their failed assassination and their plans to manipulate the political struggle in Bohai and Great Yong.

• Hu Xiaotian rescued Li Mingju from an arrow attack and discovered that Gu Jiayuan had been paid to lure him to the Sea-Rhyme Restaurant.
• Jian Tieshou investigated the murder, learned the assassin had mastered Arrow-Guiding Energy, and received Hu Xiaotian's warning to protect Li Mingju.
• Hu Xiaotian and Jian Tieshou escorted Li Mingju to the Li Residence, where they heard wailing and realized something had happened.
• Tang Jingyu told Zou Yong that he had killed Li Changxing after Hu Dafu blocked his attack on Li Mingju.
• Zou Yong explained that Li Chenzhou planned to use Xue Lingjun's death to pin blame on Xue Shengjing, while the Falling Cherry Palace preserved its own leverage.

Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu linked the murders of Li Changxing and the attack on Li Mingju to a conspiracy involving the Falling Cherry Palace, then decided to target Guo Zhenhai. At Fuqing Tower, masked attackers killed Guo and two Golden Scale Guards while Xue Lingjun remained inside.

• Hu Xiaotian found that Li Changxing had been killed after saving Li Mingju from an attempted assassination, and he reported the events to Yan Tianlu.
• Hu Xiaotian suspected the Falling Cherry Palace, the Mottled Sect, and Li Chenzhou were involved in a plot connected to Yuan Tianzhao's case, and he and Yan Tianlu identified Zou Yong as a possible beneficiary.
• Hu Xiaotian and Yan Tianlu agreed to act against Guo Zhenhai.
• A black-clad intruder drew Guo Zhenhai and the Golden Scale Guards into a trap outside Fuqing Tower as Xue Lingjun heard the fight from inside.
• A masked man and the black-clad swordsman killed Guo Zhenhai and two Golden Scale Guards, then escaped across the rooftops.

After Li Changxing and Xue Lingjun’s personal guard were murdered, Xue Lingjun gave Yan Dongsheng three days to find the killer and moved into Spring Garden beside Hu Xiaotian. Hu Xiaotian revealed that he and Yan Tianlu had attacked Guo Zhenhai, suspected Li Chenzhou or Zou Yong of killing Li Changxing, and planned to exploit the turmoil for further moves.

• Yan Dongsheng summoned his ministers to investigate Li Changxing’s murder and learned that Xue Lingjun’s personal guard had also been killed.
• Xue Lingjun confronted Yan Dongsheng, accused him of targeting her, and gave him three days to find the murderer.
• Xue Lingjun moved into Spring Garden and told Hu Xiaotian that Li Chenzhou might suspect him and attack him.
• Hu Xiaotian revealed that Yan Tianlu had helped him attack Guo Zhenhai and suspected Li Chenzhou or Zou Yong of killing Li Changxing.
• Hu Xiaotian told Xue Lingjun he intended to stir up the situation and make further moves.

Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian staged a quarrel to mislead Zou Yong while probing his connections and asking him to arrange a meeting with Li Chenzhou. After Zou Yong left, Hu Xiaotian worried that Li Changxing’s death would turn the Ministry of Justice’s investigation toward Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun.

• Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun discussed making Yan Dongsheng fear an alliance with Xue Daohong before Steward Xiao Lizhi announced Zou Yong’s arrival.
• Zou Yong offered Hu Xiaotian other sources of goods and deliberately brought up the Treasure-Gathering Studio to test Xue Lingjun’s reaction.
• Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian staged an argument over the Treasure-Gathering Studio, and Xue Lingjun warned Zou Yong not to share information about the affair with anyone around her.
• Xue Lingjun told Zou Yong that someone had killed three of her guards at Fuqing Tower and asked him to arrange a meeting with Li Chenzhou.
• After Zou Yong left, Xue Lingjun and Hu Xiaotian admitted their quarrel was an act, and Hu Xiaotian worried the Ministry of Justice investigation would target Xue Shengjing and Xue Lingjun.

Hu Xiaotian and Xue Lingjun planned to use a scandal about Zou Yong to draw out his allies, while Li Chenzhou arranged a meeting with Xue Lingjun and pressed ahead with Yuan Tianzhao’s case. The scandal enraged Yan Dongsheng, but the Empress Dowager calmed him and proposed that Zou Yong marry Yan Dongqing.

• Hu Xiaotian proposed challenging Zou Yong over his supposed pursuit of Xue Lingjun and using the confrontation to expose the people behind him.
• Li Chenzhou suspected Xue Lingjun had killed Guo Zhenhai, agreed to meet her, and confirmed that Kou Zisheng was handling Yuan Tianzhao’s case.
• Hu Xiaotian arranged for scandal sheets accusing Zou Yong of affairs with Yan Dongqing and the Queen Mother to circulate throughout the city.
• Yan Dongsheng confronted Yan Dongqing over the scandal, and she admitted loving Zou Yong while denying that their mother was involved.
• The Empress Dowager rebuked Yan Dongsheng for doubting her and suggested that Zou Yong marry Yan Dongqing.