Chapter Summaries

Wang Tai brought the Prince of Badong intercepted testimony that accused the prince of seditious remarks, then tried to distance himself from the dead Wang Yang. The Prince of Badong challenged Wang Tai’s claims about their relationship, and Wang Tai ended by directing suspicion toward Wang Yang’s connections to the Eastern Palace.

• Wang Tai showed the Prince of Badong testimony containing both genuine remarks and fabricated claims, and said it had been intercepted on its way to the Eastern Palace.
• The Prince of Badong dismissed the accusations, mocked Wang Tai’s warnings about slander, and pointed out that Wang Tai had once praised Wang Yang lavishly.
• Wang Tai denied having a close bond with Wang Yang and blamed him for the testimony, while privately resenting the stories Wang Yang had spread about them.
• The Prince of Badong recalled Wang Tai’s meeting with Wang Yang at the Fragrant Snow Tower and suggested they had plotted together.
• Wang Tai denied conspiring with Wang Yang and urged the Prince of Badong to investigate a secret passage at the Ruyi Tower and Wang Yang’s ties to Chancellor Xie’s daughter and the Eastern Palace.

Wang Tai warned the Prince of Badong about testimony linking Wang Yang to the Eastern Palace, and the prince decided to act before the alleged plot could advance. The next morning Jingzhou’s gates were sealed, and Xie Xinghan faced down Prince’s Residence guards who tried to take her to him.

• The Prince of Badong guessed that Wang Tai’s warning came from his second imperial brother, while Wang Tai hinted that more goodwill might follow.
• Wang Tai prepared to leave Jingzhou, but the Prince of Badong ordered Li Jingxuan summoned and drew his blade, choosing to act without waiting for more information.
• Jingzhou’s gates closed amid reports of barbarian troops, leaving Wang Tai and other travelers trapped inside the city.
• Xie Xinghan abandoned her trip to Yongan and redirected her cart toward the Military Commissioner’s residence.
• Steward Jia tried to force Xie Xinghan to the Prince of Badong’s residence, but she ordered her guards to resist and arrest him as an alleged abductor.

Xie Xinghan refused Kong Changyu’s attempt to escort her to the Prince’s Residence, while Madam Le recognized that Jingzhou’s military movements might signal danger within the city rather than a threat from barbarians. Sun Yan left to secure the Sun household as Madam Le vowed to protect both families.

• Kong Changyu punished Jia Quan for offending Xie Xinghan and invited her to the Prince’s Residence, but she demanded a formal invitation and continued on her way.
• Xie Xinghan suspected she would be unable to go to Yongan and reasoned that she had to maintain her dignity while avoiding a direct challenge to the Prince of Badong.
• Sun Yan reported that the Southern Commandery Troops had left the city and that soldiers had sealed off the lane around the Yu Residence.
• Madam Le concluded that the unusual troop movements and secrecy might point to internal unrest, then ordered Sun Yan to secure the Sun household and prepare for disorder.
• Sun Yan panicked at the possibility of rebellion, but Madam Le reassured him that she would keep the Le and Sun families safe, and he agreed to follow her orders.

Wang Yang completed his plans among the Barbarian Tribes and set out with Le Luoluo and Chen Qing Shan for the Mountain God Ceremony. After noticing the armed procession and suspicious route, he realized they might not be heading to a ceremony and demanded that Le Luoluo explain their destination.

• Chen Qing Shan corrected Wang Yang's punching technique, and he teased her about how much of her power he could match.
• Wang Yang recalled that Liu Tan's messenger had reported Jingzhou was calm, and he planned to leave for Wenyang Commandery rather than return to Jiangling.
• Wang Yang changed clothes and joined Le Luoluo's large, heavily armed procession, which traveled along rugged mountain paths toward the supposed ceremony.
• Wang Yang noticed there were no chieftains or elders in the procession and questioned why they had brought so many horses along the winding route.
• Le Luoluo denied that they were going to war, but Wang Yang demanded to know their real destination.

Wang Yang learned why the Wenyang Tribe had sought brocade: the rival Yongning Tribe was using it to build an alliance that could destroy them. Le Luoluo brought Wang Yang and Chen Qing Shan to a tent between the tribes’ camps, where Wang Yang realized the Yongning Tribe had already obtained the brocade it needed.

• Le Luoluo explained that the Wenyang Tribe had been unusually courteous to Wang Yang, and Chen Qing Shan offered to subdue him if necessary.
• Le Luoluo persuaded Wang Yang to leave camp and explained that the Wenyang Tribe had entered Han territory to obtain brocade for the Wuning Tribe.
• Le Luoluo described how the Yongning Tribe had gained strength by gathering smaller tribes and using brocade to attract allies.
• Wang Yang and Chen Qing Shan followed Le Luoluo and his guards to a tent set between the Wenyang and Yongning camps.
• Le Luoluo warned that the Yongning Tribe could bring the Wuning Tribe into its alliance as soon as it was willing to part with its brocade.
• Wang Yang realized the Prince of Badong’s brocade deal had already given the Yongning Tribe what it needed to make its move.

Wang Yang agreed to back Le Luoluo in negotiations with the Yongning Barbarians, then faced their chief, Ang Ta, who announced that he had brought a court envoy of his own. The arrival left Wang Yang and the newcomer stunned by their unexpected reunion.

• Le Luoluo explained that the Wenyang Tribe needed Wang Yang's support for its last-chance peace talks with the Yongning Barbarians, and Wang Yang promised to stand behind the tribe.
• Ang Ta entered the tent after knocking a Wenyang guard aside, mocked the guards, and claimed the attack was only a test of martial skill.
• Wang Yang defused Ang Ta's taunts, while Ang Ta asked whether Le Luoluo had killed Guo Shao and learned that Wang Yang was a court envoy.
• Ang Ta revealed that he, too, had invited a court envoy, and the newcomer entered with an effeminate man and an adorable girl.
• Wang Yang and the white-clad young master recognized each other and froze, while the girl was left dumbstruck.

Wang Yang and Xiao Baoyue met unexpectedly in the Wenyang Tribe’s tent, where their competing claims and hidden purposes left the others uncertain. Wang Yang seized the initiative by presenting himself as a court envoy and declaring that Xiao Baoyue was only a Jingzhou envoy, leaving her rattled but determined to keep contesting him.

• Wang Yang, Xiao Baoyue, Le Luoluo, and Ang Ta privately wondered why the others had come and what their loyalties were.
• Wang Yang assessed the group’s uncertainty and decided to speak first to shape their understanding and reassure Le Luoluo.
• Wang Yang told Xiao Baoyue that he had thought he had pacified the Jingman before she arrived, implying that he had come as an envoy under orders.
• Xiao Baoyue answered that she had not expected to meet him either, following Wang Yang’s lead despite suspecting he was maneuvering.
• Wang Yang declared that Xiao Baoyue was not a special envoy of the court but only a Jingzhou Envoy, and she panicked at his apparent insight.

Xiao Baoyue and Wang Yang traded veiled claims as they competed for influence over Le Luoluo and Ang Ta. After Wang Yang repeatedly undermined her standing, Xiao Baoyue abandoned restraint and accused him of being unable to father an heir, leaving everyone in the tent stunned.

• Xiao Baoyue claimed she carried the court's wishes and challenged Wang Yang for entering barbarian territory without notifying Jingzhou.
• Wang Yang said the court's arrangements were beyond Xiao Baoyue's knowledge, then hinted that she was still dreaming.
• Ang Ta questioned whether Xiao Baoyue's imperial connections meant she understood court affairs, and Wang Yang dismissed her as a distant relative from Jingzhou.
• Xiao Baoyue called Wang Yang a distant, concubine-born member of the Langya clan, and Wang Yang claimed legitimate descent while alleging she resented him for refusing to marry her.
• Xiao Baoyue angrily accused Wang Yang of being impotent and unable to father an heir, stunning Le Luoluo, Ang Ta, Xin Yi, Chen Qing Shan, and Lian San.

Wang Yang answered Xiao Baoyue’s accusation by inventing a tragic story about their lost child, leaving her stunned and the tribesmen shocked. He then dismissed the story as a joke and warned everyone not to repeat it, while Xiao Baoyue was left speechless.

• Xiao Baoyue’s claim threatened to make the Wenyang Tribe doubt Wang Yang’s political prospects because of his supposed inability to have children.
• Wang Yang feigned grief and claimed that he and Xiao Baoyue had lost a child he had wanted and prepared for.
• The tribesmen and Xiao Baoyue were stunned by Wang Yang’s story, while Chen Qing Shan and Le Luoluo believed it.
• Wang Yang abruptly called his story nonsense, apologized to Xiao Baoyue, and threatened to kill anyone who revealed what happened.
• Xiao Baoyue’s mind went blank as Wang Yang’s killing blow left her unable to respond.

Wang Yang and Xiao Baoyue concealed their personal conflict to let Le Luoluo and Ang Ta negotiate, but their argument over land and brocade fabric nearly brought the tribes to war. Wang Yang intervened by invoking Great Qi’s authority and demanded that Xiao Baoyue declare which side she would support if war began.

• Xiao Baoyue called for guards after Wang Yang denied there was a child, but Wang Yang appealed to their duties as envoys and she regained her composure.
• Le Luoluo and Ang Ta inspected each other’s camps, reaffirmed their oaths to King Pan, and began negotiating over the disputed land.
• Ang Ta and Le Luoluo threatened war and competed over who could supply more brocade fabric and crimson padded jackets.
• Wang Yang interrupted their escalating contest and urged them to bid with land and people, offering the Wuning Tribe’s support to the winner.
• Ang Ta challenged Wang Yang’s right to interfere, so Wang Yang warned that insulting him meant provoking Great Qi and asked Xiao Baoyue which side she would take in a war.

Wang Yang used the Wenyang Tribe’s submission to Great Qi to justify intervening in the dispute with the Yongning Barbarians, stunning Xiao Baoyue and Ang Ta. He left both of them caught by their own arguments and facing his authority as an imperial envoy.

• Wang Yang pressured Ang Ta by demanding that Xiao Baoyue choose a side, while Xiao Baoyue tried to soften Ang Ta’s earlier threat against Great Qi.
• Ang Ta argued that the Han envoys should stay out of internal tribal affairs, and Xiao Baoyue joined him by rebuking Wang Yang’s interference.
• Wang Yang countered that he had acted within his envoy’s duties and revealed that the Wenyang Tribe had submitted to Great Qi.
• Xiao Baoyue and Ang Ta reacted with shock as Wang Yang argued that the Wenyang Tribe’s submission and the lack of harmony between the tribes required him to intervene.
• Wang Yang turned Ang Ta’s and Xiao Baoyue’s own arguments against them, leaving both unsettled.

Wang Yang mediated a territorial dispute between the Yongning and Wenyang Tribes, challenging their claims and exposing Ang Ta’s plans to weaken and eventually absorb the Wenyang Tribe. Ang Ta denied the scheme but privately feared Wang Yang would ruin his ambitions.

• Wang Yang stopped Ang Ta and Le Luoluo from competing over gifts for the Wuning Barbarians and urged them to discuss peace directly.
• Le Luoluo and Ang Ta traded accusations over the Three Mountains territory and generations of blood feuds.
• Wang Yang invoked ancient imperial claims to argue that neither tribe could settle ownership by arguing over who came first, then urged them to stop reviving old grudges.
• Wang Yang accused Ang Ta of seeking the Three Mountains territory as part of a plan to weaken the Wenyang Tribe and later expand his power.
• Ang Ta denied Wang Yang’s accusation aloud but privately recognized that Wang Yang had seen through his plans.

Wang Yang pressured Ang Ta to reconsider the Yongning Tribe’s demands by promising greater profits, while Le Xiaopang and Yu Yuling argued over whether using a relay station for a meal was proper. The arrival of Jingzhou troops to escort them left Le Xiaopang claiming the military escort proved his clout.

• Wang Yang deflected Ang Ta’s objections with a proverb and asked whether more than triple the tribe’s annual brocade earnings would change his mind, causing Ang Ta to hesitate.
• Le Xiaopang ate at a relay station with Yu Yuling and argued that paying for the meal helped fund the station, while Yu Yuling warned that private profit could corrupt its public duties.
• Le Xiaopang and Yu Yuling argued over who understood Wang Yang better, and Le Xiaopang used obscure references to show off.
• A station hand reported that troops from the Jingzhou garrison had arrived to escort Le Xiaopang and Yu Yuling back to Jiangling because tribesmen had been sighted nearby.
• Le Xiaopang pointed to the military escort as proof that he had clout.

Wang Yang offered Ang Ta and Le Luoluo stakes in a Jingzhou brocade enterprise in exchange for Yongning's submission and peace with Wenyang. He then called on both tribes to join Great Qi in demanding the Wuning Barbarians submit or face war.

• Xiao Baoyue considered Wang Yang's persuasive skills while Ang Ta weighed the benefits of trade against submitting and surrendering the Three Mountains Territory.
• Wang Yang proposed founding Rainbow Cloud Pavilion by consolidating Jingzhou's brocade workshops, and revealed that he had arranged the brocade garments previously given to Yongning.
• Wang Yang offered Ang Ta and Le Luoluo each a twenty-percent noncontributory stake, provided Yongning submitted and both tribes agreed not to fight.
• Ang Ta and Le Luoluo accepted the conditions, and Wang Yang said Great Qi would fund the enterprise in return for their alliance against the Wuning Barbarians.
• Wang Yang demanded that the Wuning Barbarians submit for trade and a ten-percent stake, or face a military attack.

Xiao Baoyue watched Wang Yang turn the tribes’ interests toward a campaign against the Yidu Barbarians, while Ang Ta negotiated for a larger business stake and Le Luoluo refused to press for one. Wang Yang declined to give up any Cloud and Mud Pavilion shares, claiming the remaining stake for himself after assigning thirty percent to the Imperial Court.

• Xiao Baoyue, Le Luoluo, and Ang Ta each recognized different advantages in Wang Yang’s plan to bring the Wuning Barbarians into the alliance and use the tribes to protect the trade route.
• Ang Ta warned Wang Yang that the Yidu Barbarians threatened the route and agreed that the tribes should campaign against them.
• Wang Yang proposed giving the Yidu Barbarians a chance to surrender before annihilating them if they refused.
• Ang Ta asked for another ten-percent stake for both Yongning and Wenyang to fund the campaign, but Le Luoluo rejected the request on Wenyang’s behalf.
• Wang Yang said the Imperial Court would send no troops and take none of the spoils, then refused Ang Ta’s request for more Pavilion shares.
• Wang Yang explained that the Imperial Court held thirty percent of the remaining shares and claimed the other twenty percent for himself.

Wang Yang and Ang Ta settled the trade agreement, but Xiao Baoyue revealed that Ang Ta had ambushed an imperial delegation and used the threat of punishment to offer him a way out. She left Ang Ta with a choice: accept her help and reclaim the Three Mountains Territory, or face the consequences of his crime.

• Xin Yi tried to persuade Xiao Baoyue to offer Wang Yang a share of the profits in exchange for Xin Yi, but Baoyue silenced her.
• Wang Yang offered to shoulder another tenth of the transaction tax for the two tribes, and Ang Ta accepted the trade terms.
• The leaders agreed to swear an oath of alliance the next day and planned a celebratory feast before the talks ended.
• On the way back to camp, Xiao Baoyue told Ang Ta that the delegation he had ambushed was led by Wang Yang and had been sent by the Imperial Court.
• Ang Ta attacked Xiao Baoyue, but Xin Yi wounded his robe before Baoyue stopped her and warned him that killing her would leave Yongning without support.
• Xiao Baoyue offered to protect Ang Ta, preserve the trade agreement, clear his name, and help him reclaim the Three Mountains Territory.

Xiao Baoyue tried to persuade Ang Ta to attack Wang Yang and Le Luoluo by promising the Yongning Tribe imperial favor, territory, and profits, then warned that Wang Yang might strike first. Meanwhile, Wang Yang ordered Le Luoluo to muster troops and began his plan to hunt Xiao Baoyue.

• Ang Ta challenged Xiao Baoyue's promises and threatened her, but she explained how capturing Wang Yang and Le Luoluo could secure rewards and make the Yongning Tribe foremost among the submitted tribes.
• Ang Ta wavered at Xiao Baoyue's offer, and she warned him that Wang Yang might already know about the ambush and could be preparing to attack.
• After returning to camp, Wang Yang ordered Le Luoluo to muster his troops and send for reinforcements.
• Wang Yang considered how each of them could exploit their meeting in barbarian territory to eliminate the other's threat and conceal the truth.
• Wang Yang revealed that he had devised the Dragon Hunt Plan to capture or kill Xiao Baoyue.

Wang Yang persuaded Le Luoluo that Xiao Baoyue and the Prince of Badong planned to provoke war by attacking them, while Xiao Baoyue convinced Ang Ta that Wang Yang intended to strike during the feast. The chapter ended with both sides preparing to use the banquet as bait for the other.

• Wang Yang told Le Luoluo that the Prince of Badong had sent Xiao Baoyue to sabotage the tribes’ submission and provoke war.
• Wang Yang used repeated warnings about the War Party to persuade Le Luoluo that Xiao Baoyue planned to kill him and use the Yongning Tribe to justify an invasion.
• Le Luoluo concluded that Xiao Baoyue had promised Yongning a surprise attack and that the celebratory feast was bait for a strike.
• Xiao Baoyue told Ang Ta that Wang Yang planned to attack during the feast, kill the leaders, and rout their camp.
• Xiao Baoyue vowed to turn Wang Yang’s trap against him, while Wang Yang prepared to test her confidence with his Jiaolong-Slaying Sword.

Wang Yang persuaded Le Luoluo to attack Xiao Baoyue and Ang Ta’s camp before the banquet, while Xiao Baoyue rallied Ang Ta to prepare for battle. As Baoyue and Ang Ta briefed their commanders, Wang Yang’s forces launched a sudden assault.

• Wang Yang told Le Luoluo he would kill the Jingzhou envoy and capture the Yongning Tribal Lord, and Le Luoluo pledged the Wenyang Tribe’s obedience.
• Xiao Baoyue tried to convince Ang Ta that Wang Yang planned an ambush, then urged him to convene a war council and follow her battle plan.
• Wang Yang rejected Le Luoluo’s proposed feints and ordered a rapid, concentrated assault on the southeast corner of the enemy camp.
• Wang Yang assigned Le Luoluo command of the main attack and kept riders and archers for his own purpose.
• As Xiao Baoyue and Ang Ta explained their plans to the commanders, drums sounded and Wang Yang’s forces attacked, shocking the commanders and turning Baoyue pale.

Xiao Baoyue overcame her panic and persuaded Ang Ta to attack the Wenyang Tribe’s camp, but the ambush there shattered the Yongning forces. Wang Yang led the Wenyang victory, and his name became renowned among the tribes.

• Xiao Baoyue stopped Xin Yi from fleeing and insisted they return to the battle to find Ang Ta.
• Xiao Baoyue showed Ang Ta that the southeast attack had drawn his troops into a trap and urged him to burn the enemy camp.
• Xiao Baoyue rode with Ang Ta’s troops toward the Wenyang Tribe’s camp, where Chen Qing Shan’s forces ambushed them with arrows.
• Ang Ta fled as the Yongning soldiers broke, while Wang Yang led the Wenyang forces to crush them and win renown.