Chapter Summaries

Wen Yunmian began tending the unconscious Jun Chenyu and discovered that newly acting poison threatened his life. Suspecting a plot by Consort Shu, she exchanged clothes with Yun Yang and rushed back to the Peony Pavilion, just as Consort Shu arrived with Imperial Physician Rong and found someone posing as Noble Lady Yan.

• Wen Yunmian flattered Consort Hui to escape punishment and then returned to the Peony Pavilion, where she spent two days practicing calligraphy while waiting to tend the emperor.
• When Wen Yunmian took her turn caring for Jun Chenyu, she endured the exhausting task of watching over him and feeding him medicine.
• Wen Yunmian noticed Jun Chenyu's bluish face and discovered through his pulse that poison had just taken effect.
• Wen Yunmian exchanged clothes with Yun Yang, left her posing as Noble Lady Yan, and hurried back to the Peony Pavilion, warning that their household would otherwise be doomed.
• At the Palace of Prolonged Happiness, Consort Shu asked Noble Lady Yu about the medicine and then brought Imperial Physician Rong to Chanyang Palace.
• After the physicians announced that Jun Chenyu was in danger, Consort Shu noticed a trembling figure in the corner and approached, calling it Noble Lady Yan.

After Jun Chenyu collapsed from Peach Blossom Song poison, Consort Shu accused Wen Yunmian and urged a search of her residence. Jun Chenyu ordered the search despite Wen Yunmian's pleas, leaving her facing an uncertain accusation.

• Consort Shu confronted Wen Yunmian, but Jun Chenyu awakened before she could press her accusation.
• Imperial Physician Rong revealed that Jun Chenyu had been poisoned with Peach Blossom Song, which could exhaust a man's blood and vital energy.
• Consort Shu slapped Wen Yunmian and accused her of poisoning Jun Chenyu, while Wen Yunmian denied it.
• The Empress defended Wen Yunmian, and Consort Hui suggested Wen Leyan might be responsible; Wen Leyan denied the accusation.
• Consort Shu proposed searching Wen Yunmian's Peony Pavilion, and Jun Chenyu ordered the search despite Wen Yunmian's tearful plea.

Wen Yunmian was accused of poisoning Jun Chenyu after pills found in her quarters were identified as Peach Blossom Song, and she insisted they were health tonics. The summoned imperial physicians confirmed the pills were Peach Blossom Song, leaving Wen Yunmian facing Consort Shu’s renewed accusations.

• Eunuch Lu brought pills found among the chrysanthemums in Wen Yunmian’s quarters to Jun Chenyu, and Imperial Physician Rong identified them as Peach Blossom Song.
• Jun Chenyu ordered Wen Yunmian stripped of her rank and confined to the cold palace after she could not explain the pills.
• Wen Yunmian pleaded for a chance to explain and claimed the pills were tonics she had used to improve Jun Chenyu’s health.
• Wen Yunmian challenged Imperial Physician Rong’s diagnosis and accused him of framing her, prompting Jun Chenyu to summon Imperial Physicians Xu and Zhang.
• Imperial Physicians Xu and Zhang confirmed the pills were Peach Blossom Song, and Consort Shu demanded that Wen Yunmian answer for them.

Wen Yunmian requested that Mi Yuheng examine the pill, and he declared it was not Peach Blossom Song, exposing Imperial Physician Rong’s false diagnosis. Imperial Physician Rong admitted his mistake, while Mi Yuheng insisted he had deliberately framed Wen Yunmian, leaving Consort Shu’s scheme in jeopardy.

• Wen Yunmian asked Jun Chenyu to summon Mi Yuheng, and the Empress persuaded Jun Chenyu to let her rise while they waited.
• Mi Yuheng examined the pill and declared it was a body-nourishing medicine, not Peach Blossom Song.
• Mi Yuheng defended his diagnosis against Consort Shu’s challenge and offered to stake his life on it.
• Jun Chenyu questioned Imperial Physician Rong, who confessed that he had misidentified the pill.
• The Empress urged Jun Chenyu to consider the danger of keeping Imperial Physician Rong in the Imperial Medical Bureau, and Mi Yuheng accused him of deliberately framing Wen Yunmian.

Mi Yuheng exposed Imperial Physician Rong’s misconduct, and Jun Chenyu ordered Rong’s death while the other physicians were taken away. As Wen Yunmian returned to Chanyang Palace, she suspected Jun Chenyu’s anger was connected to an earlier court incident, and someone called for her to wait.

• Jun Chenyu sentenced Imperial Physician Rong to die by his own hand and ordered the other physicians dealt with for their misconduct.
• The Empress dismissed the consorts, while Consort Shu worried Jun Chenyu suspected her role in drugging him with Peach Blossom Song.
• Noble Lady Yu reassured Consort Shu that the plot could not be traced back to her, and Consort Shu vowed to target Wen Yunmian and Mi Yuheng.
• Wen Yunmian noticed Noble Lady Wei being escorted to Chanyang Palace and wondered whether Jun Chenyu’s behavior was tied to an earlier court incident.
• A clear voice called out to Wen Yunmian and asked her to wait.

Wen Yunmian helped Mi Yuheng gain a chance to rise in the Imperial Medical Bureau while secretly investigating who had planted Peach Blossom Song pills in Peony Pavilion. As the palace treated her coldly after Jun Chenyu stopped summoning her, Wen Yunmian prepared to break the stalemate and expose the traitor.

• Wen Yunmian told Mi Yuheng to prove his abilities after arranging for him to expose Imperial Physician Rong, and Mi Yuheng was summoned by Jun Chenyu.
• Wen Yunmian revealed that she had found Peach Blossom Song pills hidden among the pink chrysanthemums and decided to draw out the traitor in Peony Pavilion.
• Wen Yunmian instructed Yun Yang to tell Qiukui she was infertile and Yun Fei to tell Shukui she was unusually fertile, planning to identify the traitor by their reactions.
• Jun Chenyu stopped summoning Wen Yunmian while Noble Lady Wei received frequent favor, and palace servants began neglecting Wen Yunmian.
• Wen Yunmian remained composed as her servants complained about the poor treatment and said the stalemate would soon be broken.

Wen Yunmian secretly met Xie Yunjian and offered to help protect Grand Preceptor Shang in exchange for Xie becoming her eyes and ears at court. She advised him to expose lesser offenses by Shang’s relatives to ease Jun Chenyu’s suspicions, leaving Xie to consider her plan.

• Wen Yunmian left the Peony Pavilion alone and waited on a palace walkway for Xie Yunjian.
• Wen Yunmian told Xie Yunjian she knew he was trying to save Grand Preceptor Shang and offered to protect Shang and his family.
• Xie Yunjian trusted Wen Yunmian but warned her that helping him could endanger her by drawing the imperial harem into state affairs.
• Wen Yunmian asked Xie Yunjian to become her eyes and ears at court, promising not to use him to manipulate court or harem politics.
• Wen Yunmian advised Xie Yunjian to present evidence of minor offenses by Shang’s relatives so Jun Chenyu could punish them without treating Shang as a grave threat.

Wen Yunmian learned that her father had provoked Jun Chenyu by offering another daughter to serve him, and she prepared a plan to regain the emperor’s favor. Disguised in an imperial physician’s robe, she entered Chanyang Palace with Mi Yuheng’s help, ready to see Jun Chenyu.

• Xie Yunjian told Wen Yunmian that her father had urged Jun Chenyu to favor another daughter, with the Duke of State Pacification backing the proposal.
• Wen Yunmian asked Yun Yang to deliver Mi Yuheng a note requesting his help, and he sent her an imperial physician’s robe.
• Wen Yunmian changed into revealing silk garments beneath the robe and prepared to visit Jun Chenyu at midnight.
• Mi Yuheng switched shifts with Physician Liu so he could assist Wen Yunmian, then asked her for a carriage in return.
• Wen Yunmian concealed her face and followed a young eunuch into Chanyang Palace carrying a medicine chest.

Wen Yunmian disguised herself as Imperial Physician Ni to examine Jun Chenyu, and he recognized her, drew her into the hot spring, and kept her at Chanyang Palace for the night. The next morning, Yun Yang told her Consort Shu and the other ladies were waiting for her at Fengyi Palace.

• Wen Yunmian entered Chanyang Palace disguised as Imperial Physician Ni and took Jun Chenyu's pulse while Attendant Hui served him.
• Jun Chenyu recognized Wen Yunmian, sent Attendant Hui to bathe, and confronted Wen Yunmian after they were alone.
• Wen Yunmian claimed she had missed Jun Chenyu, and he pulled her into the hot spring before agreeing to see her the following night.
• Wen Yunmian pretended to twist her ankle behind a screen, and Jun Chenyu dismissed Attendant Hui and kept Wen Yunmian in Chanyang Palace.
• Attendant Hui heard a woman's voice inside the hall and left angrily after Eunuch Lu warned her not to disturb Jun Chenyu.
• Jun Chenyu let Wen Yunmian sleep in Chanyang Palace, and the next morning Yun Yang told her Consort Shu and the other ladies were waiting at Fengyi Palace.

Consort Shu accused Wen Yunmian of concealing that she was barren and pushed to have her expelled from the palace. An imperial physician confirmed Wen Yunmian had a yin-cold constitution that could leave her unable to conceive, while news of her favor with His Majesty enraged Consort Shu further.

• Wen Yunmian and Yun Yang went to Fengyi Palace, where Consort Shu confronted her with two matrons who denied knowing she was infertile.
• Consort Shu proposed summoning an imperial physician to determine whether Wen Yunmian could bear children and sending her to the Temple of Protecting the Nation if she could not.
• Wen Yunmian feigned panic for Noble Lady Yu's benefit and quietly sent Yun Yang out of the hall.
• The imperial physician declared that Wen Yunmian's yin-cold constitution made her barren for life, though he allowed there might be exceptions.
• Consort Xian revealed that Wen Yunmian, not Attendant Hui, had served His Majesty the previous night, making Consort Shu furious and determined to send her away.

After the harem petitioned to expel Wen Yunmian for her suspected infertility, Jun Chenyu arrived and defended her, then took her back to Peony Pavilion. There, Wen Yunmian thanked him by offering to model several outfits she had prepared for him.

• Consort Shu and the other consorts petitioned the Empress to strip Wen Yunmian of her rank and expel her from the palace.
• Jun Chenyu entered Fengyi Palace, rejected the petition, and helped Wen Yunmian up from her knees.
• Jun Chenyu ordered the harem not to raise Wen Yunmian's infertility again and sent Consort Shu back to her palace to calm down.
• Jun Chenyu led Wen Yunmian from Fengyi Palace, while the Empress admitted she envied the favor Wen Yunmian had earned.
• Wen Yunmian returned to Peony Pavilion with Jun Chenyu and offered to try on several outfits for him.

Wen Yunmian spent the day with Jun Chenyu, then learned he had punished her father and arranged to meet him. She exposed Qiukui as the source of a secret leaked to Consort Shu and warned that betrayal would leave Qiukui with nowhere to turn.

• Jun Chenyu stayed with Wen Yunmian until afternoon, while Eunuch Lu ordered the Peony Pavilion guards to withdraw.
• Yun Yang told Wen Yunmian that Jun Chenyu had reprimanded her father, Wen Fu'an, and ordered him to remain at home for several days.
• Wen Yunmian dismissed the punishment as deserved, asked Yun Fei to arrange a sedan chair for Imperial Physician Ni, and sent Yun Yang to deliver a letter and set up a meeting with her father.
• Wen Yunmian summoned Qiukui and confronted her about leaking the secret that Wen Yunmian could not conceive to Consort Shu.
• Yun Fei revealed that she had told only Qiukui the secret, and Wen Yunmian warned Qiukui that Consort Shu would not shelter a servant known to betray her mistress.

Wen Yunmian uncovered Qiukui’s role in Consort Shu’s schemes and arranged to use her evidence to turn Jun Chenyu against the consort. Consort Shu panicked when Qiukui warned her that Wen Yunmian was on her way to report the crimes, and Qiukui claimed she had a way to reverse the accusation.

• Wen Yunmian questioned Qiukui, who admitted placing a pill among the green chrysanthemums and leaking Wen Yunmian’s infertility to Noble Lady Yu.
• Wen Yunmian learned Qiukui had kept a hairpin from Consort Shu as evidence and promised to protect Qiukui’s younger sister.
• Wen Yunmian instructed Qiukui to visit Consort Shu directly and warn her that Wen Yunmian intended to accuse her before the Empress.
• Consort Shu was preparing dishes for Jun Chenyu when Qiukui arrived with Zhang Fuhai and claimed Wen Yunmian had exposed her.
• Consort Shu panicked that Jun Chenyu might learn of her crimes at Fengyi Palace, and Qiukui offered a way to turn the accusation against Wen Yunmian.

Wen Yunmian brought Qiukui before the Empress and Jun Chenyu, where Qiukui exposed Consort Shu’s schemes. Jun Chenyu confined Consort Shu to her palace, but Wen Yunmian expected a harsher punishment to follow by the next day.

• The Empress summoned Consort Shu after Wen Yunmian accused her of sending Qiukui to harm her.
• Jun Chenyu learned that Consort Shu had orchestrated the Peach Blossom Song incident and went to Fengyi Palace to hear the accusation.
• Qiukui confessed that she had spied on Wen Yunmian, planted a pill among the green chrysanthemums, and reported Wen Yunmian’s infertility to Consort Shu.
• Qiukui presented Consort Shu’s hairpin as proof, and Jun Chenyu ordered Consort Shu confined to the Palace of Prolonged Happiness and Qiukui beaten and expelled from the palace.
• Wen Yunmian told Yun Fei that Consort Shu’s real punishment would come by the next day.

Wen Yunmian confronted Wen Fu'an over his ties to the Duke of State Protection's Residence and warned him that the family faced ruin if he continued. She offered him a chance to gain promotion by going to Cloud City to stop a flood and expose corrupt officials, but he left undecided.

• Jun Chenyu chose not to punish Consort Shu further, while Wen Yunmian suspected Consort Shu would bring disaster upon herself that night.
• Wen Yunmian met Wen Fu'an in an abandoned palace and challenged him for blaming her after his reprimand at court.
• Wen Yunmian warned Wen Fu'an that the Duke of State Pacification's family might rebel and was using him for his command over the capital's Golden Guards.
• Wen Yunmian urged Wen Fu'an to cut ties with the duke's household and promised him wealth and honor if he listened to her.
• Wen Yunmian told Wen Fu'an to volunteer for a mission to Cloud City, where he could control flooding and expose officials who planned to collude with bandits.
• Wen Fu'an doubted her prediction and feared the danger, then said he needed time to consider her offer.

Wen Yunmian gave her father five days to prepare for the coming flood, while Consort Shu was punished after Jun Chenyu learned she had arranged Qiukui and her family's murders. Consort Shu blamed Wen Yunmian and agreed to use Joyous Promise against her.

• Wen Yunmian told her father he had five days to prepare before the flood's warning signs began.
• Jun Chenyu learned that Zhang Fuhai had bribed Qiukui's family and that Qiukui and her family had been murdered, then stripped Consort Shu of her palace-management authority and confined her.
• Consort Xian heard of the punishment and quietly instructed her maid to carry out a plan.
• Consort Shu summoned Noble Lady Yu, admitted ordering the killings, and learned Jun Chenyu had been told the truth and sent gifts to Noble Lady Yan.
• Noble Lady Yu persuaded Consort Shu that Wen Yunmian had lured her into a trap and suggested promoting Joyous Promise, Wen Yunmian's estranged younger sister, to undermine her.

Wen Leyan pursued the emperor’s favor and a future pregnancy, while Consort Xian learned of her ambitions and made plans against her. Outside the palace, Madam Meng boasted that Wen Yunmian would fall, but the Gu family hurried to investigate after hearing her threat; the chapter ended as Wen Yunmian received news from Xie Yunjian on the fifth-day deadline.

• Wen Leyan served the emperor in bed and gloated to Wen Yunmian, then waited in the cold for the emperor, hoping to become pregnant with two princes.
• Consort Xian overheard Wen Leyan’s claims about her fertility and ambitions, then signaled palace maid Tan You before leaving.
• Jun Chenyu stayed away from the harem while Noble Lady Wei attended him, and Wen Yunmian spent quiet days practicing calligraphy and watching snow.
• Madam Meng spread word that Wen Leyan would rise, but noblewomen praised Wen Yunmian’s maternal relatives, Old Madam Gu and First Madam Gu.
• Madam Meng warned Old Madam Gu that Wen Yunmian would enter the cold palace, prompting Shu Xiangyu and Old Madam Gu to hurry home and seek news.
• Wen Yunmian received a message from Xie Yunjian as the five-day deadline arrived.

Wen Yunmian received a loving letter from her Gu grandparents and decided to support their family instead of the Marquis's Residence. She secretly sent her cousin Gu Weilan intelligence about the flooding and bandits in Cloud City, and he prepared to bring the matter before the emperor and lead relief efforts.

• Wen Yunmian read a letter in which her Gu grandparents promised to protect her, and she resolved to help their family rise.
• Wen Yunmian wrote Gu Weilan about the flooding in Cloud City and entrusted Yun Yang to deliver the letter directly to him.
• Gu Weilan read Wen Yunmian's warning, concealed the letter, and took it to his grandfather.
• Gu Weilan and his grandfather discussed the dangers of suppressing bandits and providing winter relief, and Gu Weilan offered to appeal to the emperor and go to Yunzhou.
• Gu Weilan explained that Wen Yunmian had also given him guidance on dealing with the bandits, while his grandfather recognized that she wanted him to earn credit through his own abilities.

Gu Weilan accepted his cousin Wen Yunmian’s plan to support each other, and he was appointed Deputy Envoy for the Cloud City relief and bandit-suppression expedition. Wen Leyan regretted missing the chance to advance her own family, while Jun Chenyu received a favorable report from the eastern frontier.

• Gu Weilan’s grandfather urged him to seize the Cloud City mission and build the Gu Family’s influence so he could support Wen Yunmian.
• Wen Yunmian asked Xie Yunjian to recommend Gu Weilan as Deputy Envoy, and he agreed.
• Jun Chenyu appointed Xie Yunjian Chief Envoy and Gu Weilan Deputy Envoy, ordering them to lead ten thousand troops to Cloud City.
• Wen Leyan realized Gu Weilan might gain honors from the expedition and regretted not arranging for someone from the Meng Family to go.
• Jun Chenyu chose Wen Leyan’s name tablet that evening, then read a report of victory from the Eastern Frontier War as an official praised General Qin Zhao.

Jun Chenyu canceled Wen Leyan’s summons and went to Peony Pavilion to visit Wen Yunmian instead. Wen Leyan, humiliated by the rejection, vowed to kill her elder sister, while Wen Yunmian suspected the emperor’s visit had a deeper purpose.

• Jun Chenyu dismissed the officials, canceled Joyous Promise’s summons, and ordered preparations to visit Peony Pavilion.
• Wen Leyan arrogantly slighted Consort Hui, who rebuked her and compared her unfavorably to Wen Yunmian.
• A eunuch told Wen Leyan that Jun Chenyu would not receive her and had gone to Peony Pavilion, leaving her furious and humiliated.
• Wen Leyan returned to her room, smashed its furnishings, and declared that she wanted Wen Yunmian dead.
• Wen Yunmian received word that Jun Chenyu was coming to Peony Pavilion and suspected his visit had a deeper intention.