Recaps

The Prince of Badong and his advisers debated how to handle an imperial envoy who was coming to Jingzhou, with disagreement over whether to halt trade with the tribes or complete an imminent weapons shipment. Li Jingxuan proposed killing the envoy and Wang Yang, shocking everyone in the chamber.

• Tao Rui argued that the envoy’s mission to the tribes was routine, while Chen Qiming warned that he might investigate Jingzhou.
• Guo Wenyuan urged the Prince of Badong to halt trade and destroy records, but Feng Quanzu and Liu Chaozhi opposed him, insisting that the weapons shipment was vital.
• Tao Rui challenged Feng Quanzu and Liu Chaozhi’s boasts about defeating the court’s forces, and the Prince of Badong stopped their quarrel.
• Kong Changyu proposed completing the trade before the envoy arrived, then temporarily closing the Barbarian Route and monitoring the envoy closely.
• Li Jingxuan called the proposal ordinary and said his strategy required killing the envoy and Wang Yang.

Li Jingxuan proposed killing the court envoy and provoking a barbarian rebellion so the Prince of Badong could gain control of Jingzhou’s military forces. After the advisers argued over the risks, the Prince of Badong ordered the envoy killed.

• Li Jingxuan argued that the envoy’s death in Wuyang Gorge would spark war and let the Prince of Badong take command of Jingzhou’s forces.
• Xue Shao, Chen Qiming, Guo Wenyuan, Tao Rui, and Kong Changyu warned that the scheme was dangerous and could bring investigation or the Prince’s dismissal.
• Li Jingxuan urged the Prince of Badong to seize the opportunity, citing the Emperor’s illness and the danger of losing his command.
• Feng Quanzu supported killing the envoy, and Liu Chaozhi pledged to obey the Prince’s orders.
• The Prince of Badong struck his saber against the floor and ordered the envoy killed.

The Prince of Badong accepted Li Jingxuan’s plan to kill the imperial envoy and decided to act before the court could investigate his dealings with the Barbarian Tribes. After his allies argued that Wang Yang also had to die, the prince reluctantly ordered his death and erupted in anger.

• The Prince of Badong startled Li Jingxuan by naming him as the man to kill, then revealed it was a joke and praised his plan.
• Li Jingxuan argued that the prince should act decisively, and the Prince of Badong stopped the dispute and confirmed that the court might be investigating him and his dealings with the barbarians.
• Kong Changyu warned that the prince could not erase every trace of those dealings, and the Prince of Badong chose to seize the initiative rather than wait for the court to act.
• The Prince of Badong’s allies argued that Wang Yang should be killed along with the imperial envoy, citing his knowledge, uncertain allegiance, and ties to the court.
• The Prince of Badong hesitated over killing Wang Yang, but after Kong Changyu and the others pressed him, he agreed and kicked over the table in anger.

Wang Yang left Ruyi Tower and encountered Xin Yi, who attacked him after demanding to learn the Arcane Curve Finger. He and Chen Qing Shan tricked Xin Yi into believing she had been poisoned, and she ended the chapter convinced she was in danger.

• Chen Qing Shan waited outside Ruyi Tower, bought two jin of donkey meat, and watched Wang Yang leave the restaurant.
• Xiao Ning spotted Wang Yang leaving with Xin Yi, startling Xie Xinghan, while Wang Tai questioned why Wang Yang had left so quickly.
• Xin Yi chased Wang Yang and attacked Chen Qing Shan when she tried to stop her.
• Wang Yang claimed Chen Qing Shan had poisoned Xin Yi with Japanese Fox Transformation and described symptoms that made Xin Yi believe she was poisoned.
• When Xin Yi recalled Xiao Baoyue's warning that Wang Yang always lied, Wang Yang said his claims were false, which convinced Xin Yi that they were true.

Wang Tai ordered Yuanyuan to lead a team to investigate Ruyi Tower that night, while Xie Xinghan tried to locate Xiao Baoyue there. Convinced Wang Yang knew where Xiao Baoyue was, Xie Xinghan redirected her carriage to Good Well Lane to question him.

• Wang Tai discussed the fighting skills of Xie Xinghan and Xiao Ning with Yuanyuan, then ordered him to investigate Ruyi Tower with backup and avoid a fight.
• Xie Xinghan finished her fish and went to see Xiao Baoyue, who learned of the visit and angrily demanded that Xin Yi come see her despite being poisoned.
• Xie Xinghan questioned Proprietor Zhao about Xiao Baoyue, then left after remarking that the tea was poor and Sister Xiao's thoughts were elsewhere.
• Xiao Ning wondered whether Xiao Baoyue was at Ruyi Tower, but Xie Xinghan insisted she was nearby and said Wang Yang would have to explain.
• Xie Xinghan told the driver to go to Good Well Lane, confident she could coax Wang Yang into revealing even his childhood nickname.

Wang Yang discussed poetry and prose with Xie Xinghan, then beat her at flicking chess and Rock-Paper-Scissors. After wagering questions on the hand game, he won four rounds and learned Xie Xinghan’s childhood nickname.

• Xie Xinghan praised Emperor Wen’s poetry, and Wang Yang explained how the rhyme scheme of “Yan Ge Xing” created a restrained, lingering effect.
• Wang Yang discussed Emperor Wen’s plain but heartfelt writing with Xie Xinghan and recited a carefree poem about wine, wealth, and flicking chess.
• Xie Xinghan challenged Wang Yang to flicking chess, and he won their first game despite not having practiced.
• Xie Xinghan proposed wagering questions on flicking chess, but Wang Yang suggested ten throws of Rock-Paper-Scissors per round instead.
• Wang Yang used his skill at reading opponents’ habits to win all four rounds, and Xie Xinghan revealed her childhood nickname.

Liu Cheng remained trapped among the barbarians, enduring mockery and unwanted attention from four women who protected him. Meanwhile, Wang Yang learned that Liu Tan had been appointed Governor of Wenyang to pursue a hostage exchange, then discovered that the imperial envoy was Wang Yang’s uncle.

• Three barbarians mocked Liu Cheng, but four women intervened, drove the men away, and carried Liu Cheng off to recite poetry with them.
• Liu Tan received a letter from Feng Yiling at the Liu family estate and hurriedly read it.
• Wang Tai learned that Wu Qian was missing from Ruyi Tower and ordered his men to keep searching and watch for Manager Zhao.
• Lian San reported that Zhao Quan had gone to Wenyang and Ruyi Tower’s transfer had been moved up, while Xiao Baoyue told him to proceed with the original plan.
• Liu Tan told Wang Yang that the Son of Heaven had appointed him Governor of Wenyang but would not authorize a written hostage-exchange agreement.
• Liu Tan revealed that the imperial envoy was Wang Yang’s uncle, startling Wang Yang.

Wang Yang tried to leave before his distant uncle Wang Yi arrived, but the Prince of Badong summoned him and brought the two together. Wang Yi recognized Wang Yang’s wit and accepted him as family, while their convoluted genealogy left the Prince of Badong baffled.

• Wang Yang told Liu Tan that he would help rescue Liu Cheng after his uncle arrived, then ordered his household to prepare for an immediate journey.
• Wang Yang delayed the Prince of Badong’s guards long enough to give Xiao Shan and Black Han instructions in case he did not return.
• Wang Yang arrived at the Prince’s Residence tipsy and discovered that the Prince of Badong had summoned him to meet Wang Yi.
• Wang Yi tested Wang Yang with questions about their last meeting, and Wang Yang answered with a witty explanation based on Wang Yi’s letter.
• Wang Yang and Wang Yi traded clever remarks and described their tangled family relationship until the Prince of Badong cut them off, concluding that they were uncle and nephew.

Wang Yi explained that he wanted to tour Jingzhou’s historic sites before carrying out his court mission to the Southern Man, and Wang Yang helped him justify delaying his departure. The Prince of Badong then tried to persuade Wang Yang to join the mission, leaving Wang Yang under pressure from both men.

• Wang Yi told the Prince of Badong that his court duties were to deliver an edict and investigate the Man incursion, while his private aim was to visit Jingzhou’s sights.
• Wang Yang described local historic sites and food, prompting Wang Yi to plan a six-day sightseeing tour before departing on his mission.
• When the Prince of Badong asked when Wang Yi would leave, Wang Yang argued that careful planning was part of serving the sovereign, and Wang Yi agreed to depart after six days.
• The Prince of Badong offered Kong Changyu to accompany Wang Yi and cover the tour’s expenses, then urged Wang Yang to join the mission and promised him a future important position.
• Wang Yi enthusiastically invited Wang Yang along to share the journey’s scenery, and both men stared at him as he began to respond.

Wang Yang accepted the Prince of Badong’s order to join Wang Yi’s mission to the Southern Man, then used a supposed business penalty to press the prince for money. The prince challenged him to a wager, and Wang Yang won by blowing air against his palm to send a coin back across the table.

• Wang Yang declined the Prince of Badong’s invitation to accompany Wang Yi, but the prince ordered him to assist the mission and gave him six days to prepare.
• Wang Yang accepted the appointment while claiming that leaving Jiangling would cost him a hundred thousand cash under a verbal business agreement with Fourth Lady Xie.
• The Prince of Badong rejected Wang Yang’s claim that a verbal promise should be trusted and challenged him to blow a copper coin back across the table for a hundred thousand cash.
• Wang Yang raised the wager, took the prince’s seat, and blew against his upright palm so the coin slid back across the table.
• The Prince of Badong stared in disbelief after losing the wager, while Wang Yang demonstrated that air could indeed blow the coin back.

The Prince of Badong teased Wang Yang before discussing Liu Yin’s and Wu Xiuzhi’s punishments, then tested Li Jingxuan on how to make a coin blow back toward him. He ordered Kong Changyu to watch Wang Yi during his six-day visit and revealed that he would marry Wang Zao’s daughter, while dismissing concerns about the political match.

• The Prince of Badong joked that he would marry Xie Ling’s fourth daughter, and Wang Yi clarified that his intended bride was Wang Boccai’s daughter from the Black-Clothed House branch.
• Wang Yi told the Prince of Badong that Liu Yin had been demoted to Waterworks Army Advisor and Wu Xiuzhi had forfeited three months’ salary; the prince reacted coldly to Wu Xiuzhi’s lenient punishment.
• After Wang Yang left, the Prince of Badong tried to reproduce Wang Yang’s coin trick, then asked Li Jingxuan and Kong Changyu how to make a coin blow back toward him.
• Li Jingxuan suggested searching Wang Yang’s house after his death, and the Prince of Badong ordered him out; he then instructed Kong Changyu to accompany Wang Yi and keep watch during his six-day tour.
• The Prince of Badong told Kong Changyu that he would marry Wang Zao’s daughter, and Kong Changyu explained the match’s political value among Liu Song’s former officials.

Wang Yang questioned Wang Yi about a letter and an estate, but Wang Yi dodged the matter by insisting that he would avoid investigating anything beyond his diplomatic mission. After parting on friendly terms, Wang Yang’s smile faded, and he went with Chen Qing Shan to Linjiang Freight Depot.

• Wang Yi lectured Wang Yang about mountains, waters, and reclining travel until Wang Yang interrupted to ask whether they had really met before.
• Wang Yang pressed Wang Yi about his letter promising an estate, while Wang Yi alternated between saying the request was acceptable and unacceptable.
• Wang Yi urged Wang Yang to ignore anything beyond his diplomatic mission, and Wang Yang agreed to help him enjoy his stay.
• Wang Yang declined to join Wang Yi in announcing the decree against Liu Yin and listed several vulgar acts he avoided.
• Wang Yi invited Wang Yang and Zhongtong to a banquet at Fragrant Snow Tower, and the two parted laughing.
• Chen Qing Shan met Wang Yang after he left, and he took her to Linjiang Freight Depot.

Liu Yin was stripped of his offices and demoted to Waterworks Army Advisor, while Wang Yang weighed the risks surrounding his identity and asked Liu Tan to trust him alone if he wanted Liu Cheng freed. After Steward Zhai arrived to take custody of the Prince of Badong’s accounts, Liu Yin ambushed and stabbed him, declaring that his life would not be taken easily.

• Wang Yi read the edict demoting Liu Yin to Waterworks Army Advisor and assigned him responsibility for Jingzhou’s waterways.
• Wang Yang found the Linjiang Freight Depot’s goods gone and Ruyi Tower’s secret passage blocked, then accepted Sesame Candy from Chen Qing Shan.
• Wang Yang told Liu Tan he could get Liu Cheng out only if Liu Tan trusted him alone, leaving Liu Tan uncertain.
• Steward Zhai told Liu Yin the Prince of Badong planned to transfer him to Jiangzhou after the scandal subsided and asked him to hand over the accounts.
• Liu Yin stabbed Steward Zhai as his men attacked the guards and laborers in the courtyard.

Wang Yang joined Wang Yi and Wang Tai for a family banquet, where he used disputed genealogies and exaggerated recollections to force Wang Tai to acknowledge him as kin. Wang Yi backed Wang Yang throughout their verbal performance, leaving Wang Tai baffled about their relationship.

• Chen Qing Shan guarded the banquet room while Wang Tai's guards and Wang Yi's servants waited in the corridor.
• Wang Yang addressed Wang Yi as Clan Uncle and Wang Tai as Elder Brother, citing a branch division in the genealogy; Wang Yi let them choose which generations to follow.
• Wang Yang praised Wang Tai for affirming their family ties and checking the genealogy, while Wang Tai repeatedly denied having done so.
• Wang Yang recounted Wang Tai's past inquiries about his background, and Wang Yi endorsed each account as modest and reserved praise.
• Wang Yi and Wang Yang traded poetic lines and emptied their cups together, leaving Wang Tai confused about which two were truly uncle and nephew.

Wang Yang turned Wang Tai’s uncertain investigation into proof that Wang Tai had accepted him as a relative, while Wang Yi gleefully reinforced the claim. Wang Tai ended the meal trapped by Wang Yang’s emotional defense of his elder brother, and Wang Yi asked to be spared further shocks.

• Wang Yi and Wang Yang composed a rhapsody about family bonds, preventing Wang Tai from explaining his doubts about their kinship.
• Wang Yang portrayed Wang Tai as the diligent elder brother who had traced the genealogy and welcomed him into the Wang Clan, while Wang Yi praised Wang Tai’s virtue.
• Wang Yi and Wang Yang treated Wang Tai’s checks of the genealogy and household registers, their visits, and twenty-two chests of gifts as evidence that Wang Tai had accepted Wang Yang as kin.
• Wang Yang declared that anyone who called him a counterfeit Langya Wang would also be accusing Wang Tai of helping conceal a fraud.
• Wang Yang said Wang Yi was now another relative, and Wang Yi clutched his chest and asked to be spared sudden shocks.

Liu Yin offered the Prince of Badong control of the Prince of Luling’s lucrative clandestine holdings in Jingzhou in exchange for protection. The Prince of Badong spared Liu Yin for now but warned him that he would kill him if he turned against him.

• Liu Yin presented a register detailing the Prince of Luling’s thirty-nine clandestine establishments in Jingzhou and offered them to the Prince of Badong.
• Liu Yin explained that the holdings earned at least thirty-five million coins in annual net profit and argued that his knowledge was essential to keeping them running.
• Liu Yin persuaded the Prince of Badong that the Prince of Luling would struggle to reclaim the holdings or retaliate without exposing his own crimes.
• Liu Yin revealed that he had killed six people in his home, including his wife, and told the Prince of Badong that he had no other hope of survival.
• The Prince of Badong agreed to protect Liu Yin for the time being and threatened to smash his skull if he dared defy him.

Wang Yang tried to persuade Chen Qing Shan to stay behind during a dangerous diplomatic mission, but she insisted on going with him. In Jingzhou, Xie Xinghan stopped Matron Zhang from hurrying her home and asserted control over her household affairs.

• Wang Yang explained the risks of his mission and why he wanted Chen Qing Shan to remain at home, but she declared she would go and bring her long spear.
• Xie Xinghan rejected Xiao Ning’s suggestion to use a different hairpin and chose the Blue Jade Hairpin instead.
• Xie Xinghan summoned Li Qi and reprimanded him for claiming her business in Jingzhou was finished without her approval.
• Xie Xinghan told Matron Zhang she would remain in Jingzhou and ordered her not to press for a return home, making clear that Matron Zhang should obey her in her father’s absence.

Wang Yang hurried to a literary gathering on the Southern Tower, where Jingzhou officials commemorated Wang Gong with poems. After revising Yin Tancan’s lament and composing an elegy of his own, Wang Yang left the gathering’s audience deeply moved.

• Wang Yang woke late, sent Black Han to negotiate for an ingredient from Daoist Ji, and arranged for Chen Qing Shan to buy items while he went out.
• Wang Yang joined Wang Yi, Kong Changyu, Le Zhan, Yin Tancan, and Xi Gongmu on the Southern Tower to commemorate Wang Gong and recite Huan Xuan’s elegy.
• Le Zhan and Xi Gongmu presented poems, and Yin Tancan composed a lament that the group judged to lack a commanding final passage.
• Wang Yang replaced Yin Tancan’s final four lines with verses about bloodshed and armies heard in the river, earning enthusiastic praise.
• Wang Yang wrote an elegy for Wang Gong, and cranes cried as the wind rose over the gathering.

At a memorial gathering, Wang Yang steered a discussion of the Taiyuan Wang Clan toward Wang Huilong and his escape north, while Wang Yi confirmed the family’s account of his survival. Wang Yang arranged to leave his uncle and gain time to prepare for his mission, then joined Xie Xinghan’s carriage.

• Wang Yi and the gathered guests poured wine in tribute to Wang Xiaobo and discussed the decline of the Taiyuan Wang Clan.
• Wang Yang brought up Wang Yan and then repeated a rumor that Wang Huilong was not truly a Wang, prompting Wang Yi to confirm that Wang Huilong was the surviving descendant whom Sengbin had helped escape north.
• Wang Yi received a letter and asked Wang Yang whether he had sought Fourth Lady Xie’s help to visit Abbess Hui Xu.
• Wang Yang said he would stay with Wang Yi out of filial duty, knowing Wang Yi would urge him to go and thereby give him time to prepare for his mission.
• Wang Yang left the Southern Tower, climbed into Xie Xinghan’s carriage, and thanked the young Lady Xie for helping him.

Wang Yang and Xie Xinghan discussed his decision to join the mission to rescue Liu Cheng, while she worried about the obstacles he faced at the Academy of State Sons. As Wang Yang prepared to leave, Xie Xinghan feigned distress over a wager and hinted that she needed his help against five classical scholars.

• Xie Xinghan questioned Wang Yang about why he had arranged her performance, and he explained that he was helping prepare for Liu Cheng’s rescue.
• Xie Xinghan warned Wang Yang about the dangers of traveling to the Wenyang Man, while he claimed he had given the Prince of Badong his word and wanted to earn merit.
• Xie Xinghan raised the opposition Wang Yang faced at the Academy of State Sons, but Wang Yang avoided discussing it and said he had somewhere to go.
• Wang Yang stopped the carriage, thanked Xie Xinghan for her help, and promised to treat her to hot pot another day.
• Xie Xinghan pretended to cry and described a family wager in which five experts in classical studies had come to challenge her, suggesting she had no one to help her.

Xie Xinghan feigned distress to persuade Wang Yang to attend a secret examination by five scholars at the Tea Appreciation House. Wang Yang impressed them with his arguments and answers, but the scholars continued probing the foundations of his learning.

• Wang Yang recognized that Xie Xinghan was acting, but agreed to help her face the five scholars.
• Xie Xinghan and Xiao Ning arranged for Wang Yang to enter the examination alone, and Xie Xinghan admitted that he knew she was tricking him into coming.
• Wang Yang faced five scholars, confirmed that he had written three books on the Book of Documents, and defended his youth and accomplishments against their suspicions.
• Wang Yang described his reading as focused on literature and history, then compared his cursory and close reading to dry grass and glowing embers, and to muddy currents and clear spring water.
• When a skeptical scholar demanded to know which books formed the foundation of his learning, Wang Yang said there was not enough time or a suitable place to begin.

Wang Yang faced a skeptical examination of his learning and demonstrated extraordinary command of the Book of Changes. Liu Jing concluded that Wang Yang had mastered two classics and declared his achievement to the other scholars.

• The five scholars challenged Wang Yang after he said he did not know where to begin listing the foundations of his learning.
• Liu Jing tested Wang Yang with a passage from Jiao's Forest of Changes, and Wang Yang explained its hexagram image in detail.
• Liu Jing gave Wang Yang a hexagram and asked him to explain its meaning, then questioned him about the interpretation of Mutual Hexagrams.
• Wang Yang closed his eyes and worked out the rules for selecting Mutual Hexagram lines, then explained which hexagrams had upper and lower mutual trigrams.
• Liu Jing checked Wang Yang's explanation on paper and announced that Wang Yang had mastered two classics.

Wang Yang impressed five Academy of State Sons examiners with his knowledge of the Book of Changes, but panicked when he realized they were preparing to bring him to Jiankang and fled. The examiners praised his talent afterward, while Liu Jing tried to persuade Du Qianguang to do something he immediately rejected.

• Tan Yuanzong interrupted Wang Yang to ask about the Spring and Autumn Annals, but Liu Jing defended Wang Yang and praised his scholarship on the Changes.
• Wang Yang affirmed Liu Jing’s methods and explained why later scholars had lost the ancient understanding of images and numbers, moving Liu Jing to tears.
• Liu Jing tried to give Wang Yang his seat and insisted that his learning qualified him for the Academy of State Sons.
• Wang Yang realized that entering the academy would take him to Jiankang, where his false identity might be exposed, and invented an excuse to flee.
• Xie Xinghan concluded that Wang Yang had done too well on the examination, while the five elders praised his talent and Liu Jing declared that he must be admitted.
• Liu Jing approached Du Qianguang with a request, and Du Qianguang cut him off with a firm refusal.

Li Jingxuan and Wang Yang separately analyzed the terrain around the delegation’s route and concluded that Tiger Head Pass was the likely ambush site. Wang Yang identified an escape route via the Ju River and told Liu Tan to send a boat squad to meet them at Tigerhead Shoal.

• The Prince of Badong praised Li Jingxuan’s rice-and-bean terrain map of Wenyang and the middle reaches of the Ju River.
• Feng Yiling arrived at the Liu Residence and explained his map of the delegation’s route to Liu Tan and Wang Yang.
• Li Jingxuan advised the Prince of Badong to order the Yongning Barbarians to kill all 128 members of the delegation, then described possible ambush sites along the route.
• Wang Yang rejected Miasma Pool Slope and Fishbelly Ravine as the likely ambush sites and concluded that the enemy would strike at Tiger Head Pass.
• Wang Yang pointed to the Ju River and instructed Liu Tan to send a small squad in light boats, with archers and crossbowmen, upstream to meet them at Tigerhead Shoal.

Wang Yang rejected Liu Tan’s plan to use many boats or land troops to defend the delegation, explaining how narrow waterways, delays, and broken battle formations would leave them vulnerable. He proposed a swift rescue for only a few people, while keeping his suspicions about Wang Yi and the mission’s true enemy to himself.

• Liu Tan asked Feng Yiling how many boats could carry the delegation, and Wang Yang explained why a large flotilla would be slow, conspicuous, and easy to trap.
• Wang Yang proposed using a small, fast flotilla to rescue only himself and a few others, prompting Liu Tan to object to abandoning the rest of the delegation.
• Liu Tan suggested ferrying soldiers ashore to hold off the ambushers, but Wang Yang argued that the small shoal and slow crossing would leave the troops exposed and their formation vulnerable.
• Wang Yang drew on his study of military treatises and battle accounts to explain why disciplined formations mattered and why troops were vulnerable while crossing or assembling.