Recaps

Emperor Jingde and the court condemned Jia Huan after Northern Liang reported that he had slaughtered more than seventy thousand barbarians, a claim they believed was fabricated. Unable to understand Jia Huan and Qi Shanguo’s motives, the court sent Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu to persuade Jia Huan to return to the Capital while promising not to punish the Jia clan for his defeat.

• Emperor Jingde ordered the garrisons of Datong and Xuanfu to march on Liangzhou and arrest Jia Huan, but Wei Yuansu reported Qi Shanguo’s claim that Jia Huan had defeated Northern Mang and killed more than seventy thousand barbarians.
• Emperor Jingde and the Retired Emperor rejected Qi Shanguo’s battle report as an outrageous deception and wondered what Jia Huan and Qi Shanguo were trying to achieve.
• Chief Grand Secretary Yang urged Emperor Jingde to placate Jia Huan rather than punish his family, and Emperor Jingde summoned Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu.
• Emperor Jingde assured Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan’s defeat would not implicate their family and ordered them to persuade his relatives to write to him and urge his return to the Capital.
• Jia Baoyu rejoiced when Emperor Jingde promised to put him to important use, while Emperor Jingde remained convinced Jia Huan had insulted the entire realm.

The Great Qian court received corroborating reports that Jia Huan had won a devastating victory over Northern Mang after luring its main army into attacking Gourd Mouth. The officials struggled to believe the account, then marveled at the victory and awaited further confirmation.

• Mu Shou'en's report of Northern Liang's victory enraged the Directorate of Ceremonial's eunuchs, who suspected Jia Huan had seized control of the frontier troops.
• Grand Secretary Yang brought the ministers' doubts to the Court Deliberation Hall, where reports from Minister Wang and the Shaanxi Governor supported the victory.
• The Censor-in-Chief, the Ministers of Revenue and Works, and other officials presented matching reports from Northern Liang's scattered offices.
• The Retired Emperor ordered Mu Shou'en's detailed report read aloud, revealing that Jia Huan had baited Northern Mang into attacking Gourd Mouth with sixty-five thousand elite cavalry against eight hundred and one defenders.
• The report explained that the barbarians collapsed after the attack, allowing Northern Liang's forces to pursue them through twenty battles and take nearly seventy-four thousand heads.
• The Retired Emperor praised Jia Huan's achievement, while the court waited for further reports and Minister Zhuge hurried to inform Jia Cunzhou.

As Jia Mu and the Jia household grieved over Jia Huan’s supposed defeat and disgrace, Minister Zhuge arrived with news that he had won an astonishing victory against Northern Mang. The family was left awaiting the court’s official announcement, while Concubine Zhao and the women began to celebrate Huan’er’s triumph.

• Jia Baoyu urged Jia Mu and Jia Zheng to write Jia Huan and persuade him to leave Northern Liang, then revealed that he planned to volunteer to fight the barbarians for his own advancement.
• Minister Zhuge told Jia Zheng, Jia Mu, and Concubine Zhao that Jia Huan had defeated Northern Mang forces, reporting more than seventy-three thousand enemy troops slain and calling him a peerless war god.
• Jia Zheng and Jia Mu struggled to believe Minister Zhuge, who vouched for the victory and said the court would announce the news by the following afternoon.
• Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu saw Concubine Zhao leave the Warm Chamber in tears and assumed the news was disastrous.
• Concubine Zhao laughed with joy and told Wang Xifeng, Lin Daiyu, Xue Baochai, An Xuan'er, Qingwen, and Ping'er that Jia Huan had slaughtered the barbarian cavalry.
• Lin Daiyu and the other women were stunned by the news, and Concubine Zhao returned to her room to sleep until the official announcement.

Jiang Wuyuan reacted with fury to Jia Huan’s astonishing victory over Northern Mang, while news of the triumph swept the Divine Capital and turned Jia into a celebrated god of war. The court gathered at the Jia residence to decide how to reward him, though his Embroidered Uniform Guard office barred him from receiving a noble title.

• Jiang Wuyuan admitted he could no longer understand Jia Huan, then vented his rage by slaughtering prisoners in the Imperial Prison.
• Xu Jingchun told Ouyang Jin that Jia Huan had routed Northern Mang with only eight hundred men, and Ouyang celebrated the victory despite regretting his resignation.
• Jia Baoyu boasted that he would fight the barbarians, but the Grand Secretariat’s announcement of Jia Huan’s victory made him collapse and flee home in despair.
• A frontier soldier’s wife told a Divine Capital tavern that her husband had killed eighty-nine cavalrymen in Jia Huan’s victory, and the people erupted in pride and cheers.
• The Divine Capital celebrated Jia Huan as the court and both emperors gathered at the Rongguo Mansion to discuss rewards, while officials noted that his post barred him from receiving a noble title.

At the Central Court, the Retired Emperor and Emperor Jingde argued over how to reward Jia Huan for his victory against Northern Mang. Emperor Jingde proposed making Jia Huan a hereditary Dingguo Duke if he resigned and gave up all official power, leaving the court awaiting Jia Huan’s decision.

• The Retired Emperor praised Jia Huan’s victory as the ministers entered the Court Deliberation Hall, while Emperor Jingde endured the implied rebuke.
• Jiang Wuyuan admitted he had issued a public notice based on slander, and Emperor Jingde suspended his salary for five years.
• The Retired Emperor proposed making Jia Huan a marquis, but Emperor Jingde cited the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s ancestral rules against granting titles to its members.
• The Retired Emperor argued that Jia Huan’s unprecedented victory justified an exception, and Chief Grand Secretary Yang supported the marquisate.
• Emperor Jingde offered Jia Huan a hereditary Dingguo dukedom on the condition that he resign, surrender his power, and never return to the Central Court.

Emperor Jingde offered Jia Huan the title of Dingguo Duke if he resigned from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, leaving the choice to him as Jiang Wuyuan prepared to assert his command. Jia Huan’s family celebrated his reward, while Jia Zhen sought forgiveness and Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu spiraled into illness and rage over his success.

• Emperor Jingde declared that Jia Huan could become Dingguo Duke only by leaving the Embroidered Uniform Guard, while a unanimous memorial from its members could instead make him a marquis and retain his post.
• Emperor Jingde rejected Xu Jingchun’s request to restore Ouyang Jin to office and ordered Jiang Wuyuan to investigate how Jia Huan’s eight hundred guards defeated Northern Mang’s army.
• Jiang Wuyuan summoned influential figures to Mang Mountain, intending to demonstrate his authority over the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Jia Zheng told Jia Mu and the others about Jia Huan’s possible dukedom, and Wang Xifeng argued that Jia Huan would not surrender his authority to accept it.
• Jia Zhen begged Jia Mu and Wang Xifeng to intercede for him, but Wang Xifeng rebuked him and he left Rongguo Mansion without their support.
• After Xue Pan told Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan could become a duke, Madam Wang vomited blood and Jia Baoyu raved about killing the emperor, prompting Xue Pan to call for a physician.

Jia Huan returned from Gourd Mouth Pass, investigated a hidden residence linked to the former queen of Yuezhi, and captured Zhu Zuo, one of Jiang Wuyuan’s former trusted men. The chapter ended with Jia Huan ordering Zhu Zuo tortured for information, while Zhu Zuo vowed not to betray Jiang Wuyuan.

• Liangzhou physicians told Jia Huan that the eight hundred wounded heroes would survive but could never advance their martial cultivation, and Jia Huan arranged reimbursement for their treatment.
• Qi Shanguo and twelve generals urged Jia Huan to remain in Northern Liang, but he said he would return to the capital and pursue his place at the pinnacle of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Jia Huan asked the Misty Rain Tower to investigate an address, and the steward identified it as the former queen of Yuezhi’s private residence while warning him that Jiang Wuyuan’s people had gathered at Mang Mountain.
• Jia Huan and three companions reached the residence and defeated the former queen and a bearded man, whose disguise Jia Huan tore away.
• Scholar identified the captured man as Zhu Zuo, a former trusted general of Jiang Wuyuan who had supposedly died in prison.
• Jia Huan immobilized Zhu Zuo and ordered Scholar and Twin Whips to begin torturing him, while Zhu Zuo refused to betray Jiang Wuyuan.

Jia Huan uncovered secret letters linking the former queen of Yuezhi and Zhu Zuo to Jiang Wuyuan, along with armor made by the White Lotus Cult, then returned to the Divine Capital with the queen in custody. As he prepared to seize power and purge his enemies, he ordered arrests and had Jia Zhen dragged from the Ningguo Mansion.

• Jia Huan threatened to destroy Yuezhi until the former queen admitted helping Zhu Zuo abduct twins for Jiang Wuyuan and revealed two hidden letters.
• Jia Huan found that Jiang Wuyuan had rewarded the former queen with gifts and armor, and Scholar identified a recovered suit as White Lotus Cult work.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar and Twin Whips to secure the castle and its prisoners, then took the former queen to the Divine Capital.
• Eight days later, Jia Huan returned to Northern Zhili with his troops welcomed by the people, prompting officials to worry that he was courting public support.
• After reaching the Divine Capital, Jia Huan ordered arrests of Jia Yucun and Kong Yu and rode to the Ningguo Mansion to arrest Jia Zhen.
• The Embroidered Uniform Guards dragged Jia Zhen from the mansion, and he protested that Jia Huan was harming an elder of his clan.

Jia Huan arrested and killed Jia Zhen and Jia Yucun after they challenged him, then prepared to confront Commanding Commissioner Jiang and claim leadership of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. The chapter left Jia Huan entering the Forbidden City, determined to proclaim his authority.

• Jia Huan ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest Jia Zhen and warned the Jia family to prepare a coffin for him.
• Jia Huan had Jia Zhen tortured, then executed Jia Yucun and killed Jia Zhen.
• Water Skimmer reported that factions had gathered at Mang Mountain while Commanding Commissioner Jiang maintained order.
• Jia Huan retrieved the Zhu Zuo Case Files and ordered the Kirin Office brothers to await his commands.
• Jia Huan entered the Forbidden City, resolved to claim the summit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Jia Huan demanded both his official post and noble title, then used the court deliberation to accuse Jiang Wuyuan of secretly sparing the condemned Zhu Zuo. He revealed that Jiang had written to Zhu Zuo two years earlier, leaving the officials and sovereigns stunned.

• Jia Huan told Chief Grand Secretary Yang that he wanted both the official post and noble title, prompting Yang to arrange a new court deliberation.
• At the Court Deliberation Hall, Jiang Wuyuan accused Jia Huan of murdering Jia Zhen and gathering popular support for ulterior purposes.
• Jia Huan confronted Jiang Wuyuan and presented a case file showing that Zhu Zuo had been sentenced to death for violating a commandery princess but might still be alive.
• Jiang Wuyuan claimed he had believed Zhu Zuo was dead and asked the sovereigns to punish his negligence if Zhu Zuo had survived.
• Jia Huan accused Jiang Wuyuan of writing to Zhu Zuo two years earlier, shocking the assembled officials and Emperor Jingde.

Jia Huan accused Jiang Wuyuan of defying an imperial decree, releasing a convicted official, and secretly supplying armor to the Yuezhi Kingdom. After the secret letter was verified, Jiang admitted writing it and giving the Yuezhi tea, porcelain, and one thousand sets of armor.

• Jia Huan confronted Jiang Wuyuan in the Court Hall and demanded to know whether he had written secret letters to Zhu Zuo.
• Jia Huan presented a yellowed letter and accused Jiang of defying an imperial decree, privately releasing a convicted official, and supplying armor to the Yuezhi Kingdom.
• Jia Huan called for Zhu Zuo and the former queen of Yuezhi to be questioned, and the Retired Emperor ordered an investigation.
• While the ministers waited, Jiang Wuyuan resolved to kill Jia Huan after the confrontation.
• Chief Grand Secretary Yang returned from the investigation and asked Jiang whether he had written the letter and supplied the Yuezhi with goods and armor; Jiang admitted both.

Jia Huan confronted Jiang Wuyuan in court over his unauthorized dealings with Yuezhi, but Emperor Jingde defended Jiang and condemned Jia. Jia then revealed that Jiang had colluded with Northern Mang for thirty years, leaving the court stunned.

• Jiang Wuyuan admitted releasing Zhu Zuo and giving armor to Yuezhi, arguing that his actions advanced Great Qian’s interests in the Western Regions.
• Emperor Jingde confirmed he had tacitly approved Jiang’s plan and rebuked Jia Huan for being shortsighted and reckless.
• The Retired Emperor defended Jia Huan, while Emperor Jingde insisted that Jia had damaged Great Qian’s reputation by arresting Yuezhi’s former queen.
• Jia Huan ordered the court historians to record that Emperor Jingde knew of Jiang Wuyuan’s deeds, then accused Jiang of colluding with Northern Mang.
• Jia Huan declared that Jiang Wuyuan had colluded with Northern Mang for thirty years, shocking the court and unsettling Jiang.

Jia Huan confronted Jiang Wuyuan before the court, accusing him of consuming infants and colluding with Northern Mang, then presented secret letters as evidence. Jiang Wuyuan admitted his guilt, leaving his fate to the state's justice.

• Jia Huan accused Emperor Jingde of knowingly excusing Jiang Wuyuan's crimes, and Emperor Jingde insisted he knew nothing of Jiang's dealings with the grassland barbarians.
• Jia Huan accused Jiang Wuyuan of obtaining infants through the Zhishi clan and asked Xuanyuan Zhigu and Pei Changqing whether they had contacted the Zhishi People under Jiang's orders.
• Jia Huan revealed that evidence had been distributed across Northern Liang, Shaanxi, and Northern Zhili, then presented secret letters to the Retired Emperor.
• The Retired Emperor, Emperor Jingde, and the ministers examined the letters as Jiang Wuyuan called them forged and defended his actions as serving Great Qian.
• Jia Huan condemned Jiang Wuyuan for betraying the state, and Jiang Wuyuan finally pleaded guilty.

Jiang Wuyuan pleaded guilty but demanded that Qin Zhong succeed him as Commanding Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, warning that a different choice would destabilize the realm. Jia Huan refused to yield, while Qin Zhong accepted the prospect of taking command and Jiang Wuyuan offered to secure the martial factions’ submission.

• Jiang Wuyuan pleaded guilty, prompting Emperor Jingde to erupt in anger and summon two eunuchs from the Great Qian Ancestral Hall.
• Jiang Wuyuan asked the ministers to remember his service to the state and insisted that Qin Zhong succeed him as Commanding Commissioner.
• Jia Huan rejected Jiang Wuyuan’s demand, and Jiang Wuyuan challenged Qin Zhong to accept the position.
• Qin Zhong declared that he would safeguard the state and oversee affairs throughout the realm as Commanding Commissioner.
• Chief Grand Secretary Yang questioned Jiang Wuyuan’s right to recommend a successor, but Jiang Wuyuan warned that his fall could spark disorder.
• Jiang Wuyuan promised to make the martial factions submit to Qin Zhong if the court appointed him.

Jiang Wuyuan confessed his crimes and urged the court to appoint Qin Zhong as his successor, and the Twin Emperors named Qin Zhong Commanding Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Jia Huan rejected the appointment and challenged Qin Zhong’s ability to deal with Jiang Wuyuan, leaving the court tense.

• Jiang Wuyuan admitted his guilt and proposed that Qin Zhong succeed him as Commanding Commissioner.
• Emperor Jingde appointed Qin Zhong to lead the Embroidered Uniform Guard and authorized him to investigate Jiang Wuyuan’s case.
• The Retired Emperor told Jia Huan that he was still young and would be needed to carry the great banner in the years ahead.
• Jia Huan refused the appointment, and Emperor Jingde rebuked him for his ambition and lack of restraint.
• Jia Huan asked Qin Zhong how he would handle Jiang Wuyuan, then declared that Qin Zhong was unworthy.

Jia Huan exposed Jiang Wuyuan’s alleged connection to the White Lotus Cult, but Emperor Jingde ordered Qin Zhong to take command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and sent Jia Huan and Jiang Wuyuan to Mang Mountain. As officials learned of the transfer, they feared Jia Huan had cleared the way for Qin Zhong and that bloodshed would follow.

• Jia Huan accused Jiang Wuyuan of being the White Lotus Cult Leader’s elder brother and offered to purge the cult if given command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Emperor Jingde ended the court deliberation, ordered troops to secure the city and surround Jiang’s residence, and sent Jiang and Jia Huan to Mang Mountain with Qin Zhong’s authority in place.
• The Retired Emperor objected to Jia Huan leaving the Forbidden City, but Emperor Jingde overruled him and departed.
• Jiang Wuyuan left the hall under guard, while he and his trusted subordinates exchanged a brief, meaningful look.
• Jia Huan sent Scholar Twin Whips away, and news spread that Qin Zhong would take command at Mang Mountain before receiving the Imperial Edict and Official Seal in the capital.
• Officials concluded that Jia Huan had paved the way for Qin Zhong and feared a bloody slaughter on Mang Mountain.

Jiang Wuyuan’s crimes led the Retired Emperor to prepare the Capital Camp and visit the Rongguo Mansion to protect Jia Huan and his family. Outside the Divine Capital, Jiang Wuyuan gathered the martial world and announced that he would step down as Commanding Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• The Retired Emperor ordered eighty thousand Capital Camp troops to guard the Divine Capital’s outskirts and barred the Embroidered Uniform Guard from entering.
• The Retired Emperor rejected a eunuch’s suggestion that Jia Huan’s death would serve the State and Altars, then went to the Rongguo Mansion to protect the Jia Family.
• Jia Mu, Jia Zheng, and the others welcomed the Retired Emperor, while they feared for Jia Huan’s safety.
• Jiang Wuyuan led nearly sixty thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards to Mang Mountain, where leaders and masters from across the martial world greeted him.
• Jiang Wuyuan admitted that he had committed an error in his youth and announced that he would no longer serve as Commanding Commissioner of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Jiang Wuyuan formally stepped down as Commanding Commissioner and named Qin Zhong his successor, while demanding that the martial world preserve the existing order under Qin. After the leading factions signed his agreement, Jia Huan confronted a martial veteran who declared Qin the Jianghu’s new authority.

• Jiang Wuyuan announced that he would no longer serve as Commanding Commissioner and told the Northern Commandant Office to obey Qin Zhong.
• Tens of thousands of guards pledged obedience to Qin Zhong, while Xu Jingchun and his subordinates remained still.
• Jiang Wuyuan demanded that the martial factions maintain the old rules and sign a bamboo scroll recognizing Qin’s authority.
• The leaders of the major factions and the unaffiliated martial titans signed the scroll, while Misty Rain Tower remained absent.
• A martial veteran declared that Qin Zhong was now the Jianghu’s only sky, and Jia Huan stepped forward and demanded that he repeat himself.

Jia Huan killed six top Heavenly Ranking masters in five breaths after they declared Qin Zhong would succeed Jiang Wuyuan, then confronted Jiang and Qin over their authority. The chapter ended with Jia Huan standing ten steps from Jiang, determined to settle matters and purge the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

• Jiang Wuyuan ordered six elders to declare Qin Zhong the future Commanding Commissioner, and they publicly affirmed their loyalty to him.
• Jia Huan killed the Tianshan Taoist with a flick of his sleeve, then split the other five elders in half with one saber stroke.
• The Kirin Office guards and gathered martial practitioners hailed Jia Huan after witnessing his overwhelming strength.
• Jia Huan condemned Jiang Wuyuan as a criminal and told Qin Zhong that accepting his political legacy was ambition clouding his judgment.
• Jia Huan approached Jiang Wuyuan and declared that he would purge the Embroidered Uniform Guard's own ranks.

Jia Huan received Emperor Jingde’s edict authorizing him to cleanse the ranks and faced Jiang Wuyuan in a deadly confrontation. Jiang Wuyuan revealed his overwhelming cultivation and unleashed a blood-mist sun, while Jia Huan remained still before him.

• Jia Huan demanded that the Ancestral Hall eunuchs and Imperial Palace Experts stand aside, and Jiang Wuyuan and his allies prepared to fight.
• An Imperial Edict arrived authorizing Jia Huan to cleanse the ranks, and the imperial forces withdrew as Jia Huan and Jiang Wuyuan faced each other.
• Jiang Wuyuan confessed that Jiang Wuji was the White Lotus Cult Leader and revealed that he had mastered a peerless cultivation art.
• Jiang Wuyuan released purple qi that showed his terrifying strength, astonishing the gathered Jianghu factions and guards.
• Jiang Wuyuan formed a vast blood-mist sun and threatened Jia Huan, who stood motionless as the power gathered.

Jiang Wuyuan revealed his overwhelming strength and challenged Jia Huan to purge the ranks, but Jia Huan stunned the martial world by displaying power that placed him near the legendary realm at nineteen. Jiang Wuyuan attacked him in fury, and his blood-mist fist shattered Jia Huan’s Purple Cauldron.

• Xu Jingchun urged the Ancestral Hall eunuchs to seize Jiang Wuyuan, but they refused to act without an Imperial Edict.
• Jiang Wuyuan let his blood mist gather into a vast, oppressive presence and challenged Jia Huan to carry out his threat.
• Jia Huan answered by surrounding himself with purple qi and approaching Jiang Wuyuan as a purple lotus bloomed beneath each step.
• The assembled martial artists realized Jia Huan was nearing the legendary realm at nineteen, while Jiang Wuyuan laughed in disbelief and rage.
• Jiang Wuyuan struck Jia Huan with a blood-mist fist, shattering the Purple Cauldron.

Jia Huan fought Jiang Wuyuan before a vast crowd and repeatedly overpowered him, defeating his Buddhist and Wudang techniques as well as his refined-iron body. The chapter ended with Jiang Wuyuan collapsed and Jia Huan challenging his belief that the world depended on him.

• Jiang Wuyuan shattered Jia Huan’s Purple Cauldron with one punch, but the recoil made him vomit blood.
• Jia Huan defeated Jiang Wuyuan’s Ninth Form Prajna Zen Palm with a Swastika palm and then overwhelmed his Nine Dharma-Protector Discs.
• Jia Huan reminded Jiang Wuyuan of his earlier threats and asked what he could use to kill him.
• Jiang Wuyuan unleashed Wudang’s Limitless Palm, but Jia Huan defeated it with eighteen successive palm strikes.
• Jiang Wuyuan used Northern Mang’s body-tempering art to attack Jia Huan, but Jia Huan’s Indestructible Diamond Divine Art broke his fist and left him collapsed.
• Jia Huan asked Jiang Wuyuan who he thought he was to claim that his fall would plunge the world into chaos.

The Retired Emperor’s eunuch arrived at Mang Mountain with an order to capture Jiang Wuyuan, only to find Jia Huan had already defeated him before the assembled court and martial world. Jia Huan left Jiang Wuyuan broken and asked the crowd what he was now that the man who had been the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s sky had fallen.

• The Retired Emperor sent his personal eunuch to order the capture of Jiang Wuyuan, while the First Prince said there was no need to go because Jiang Wuyuan had already lost.
• The eunuch reached Mang Mountain and saw Jia Huan standing bloodied but upright as Jiang Wuyuan lay battered on the ground.
• Jiang Wuyuan summoned four Demonic Path titans and drained their cultivation to restore his strength, but Jia Huan cut them down with a single saber strike.
• Jiang Wuyuan attacked with the imperial family’s supreme art and Northern Mang’s royal art, but Jia Huan shattered his phantom beasts and struck him into the ground.
• Jia Huan broke Jiang Wuyuan’s breastbone, meridians, and dantian, leaving him near death before asking the gathered crowd what he was now that Jiang Wuyuan had fallen.

Jia Huan faced a vast coalition of Embroidered Uniform Guards and Jianghu martial warriors after defeating Lord Jiang, while the Ancestral Hall refused to protect him. He unleashed a devastating saber technique, rallied the Kirin and Vermilion Bird Offices, and crippled Xuanyuan Zhigu and Pei Changqing as the struggle for power neared its end.

• Jiang Wuyuan urged the assembled factions to join forces against Jia Huan before fainting from his wounds.
• Xuanyuan Zhigu and Pei Changqing rallied officials and martial warriors to attack Jia Huan, while Qin Zhong withdrew and the Ancestral Hall rejected the Retired Emperor's decree.
• Nearly twenty thousand Embroidered Uniform Guards surrounded Jia Huan, and Xu Jingchun ordered the Vermilion Bird Office to support him.
• Jia Huan commanded eight hundred Embroidered Spring Sabers to strike down attackers, prompting many survivors to flee.
• Scholar Twin Whips led the Kirin Office's forces into battle, and Xu Jingchun joined them with the Vermilion Bird Office.
• Jia Huan struck Xuanyuan Zhigu down, then broke Pei Changqing's dantian and meridians.

Emperor Jingde and Empress Yin learned that Jia Huan had routed Jiang Wuyuan and feared the consequences for imperial control of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. At the Rongguo Mansion, the Retired Emperor praised Jia Huan before departing, while the Jia family struggled to interpret his words and hurried to learn what had happened.

• Emperor Jingde planned to protect Xuanyuan Zhigu and Pei Changqing and win Xu Jingchun's support so they could strip Qin Zhong of authority.
• Wang Jinzhong reported that Jia Huan had battered Jiang Wuyuan into collapse, leaving Emperor Jingde furious and demanding Jia Huan's death.
• The Retired Emperor learned that Jia Huan, at nineteen, was approaching the Legendary Realm and praised him as a brilliant and great Embroidered Uniform Guard before leaving Rongguo Mansion.
• Jia Zheng told Wang Xifeng, Concubine Zhao, and the others about the Retired Emperor's praise, and Wang Xifeng ordered carriages to go outside the city.
• Madam Wang, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Rong discarded their mourning sashes and set out to see Jia Huan's corpse.