Chapter Summaries

Jia Huan ignored Qingwen’s pleas and went to the Misty Rain Tower’s meeting, where he defeated Scarface Fiend and Mother Yaksha and brought their bodies to the Imperial Prison. Their capture earned him a powerful martial art and advanced him to the first level of the Innate Realm; he returned home to find Qingwen frightened and embarrassed.

• Qingwen resented Jia Huan for tasting her rouge, while Xiangling told him she was making progress studying poetry with Lin Daiyu.
• A sword-bearing youth summoned Jia Huan to the Misty Rain Tower at midnight, but Qingwen confronted him when she realized he was leaving to fight despite promising to withdraw.
• At a secluded temple, Jia Huan killed Scarface Fiend with Regret of the Overbearing Dragon and struck Mother Yaksha down with finger force.
• Jia Huan ordered the youth to drag the two corpses to the Imperial Prison, where the panel rewarded him with Bone-Melting Cotton Palm and enough power to reach the first level of the Innate Realm.
• Jia Huan returned home, teased Qingwen about her promise to let him taste her rouge, and left her to prepare for his bath after she asked him to wait until tomorrow.

After Jia Huan received official praise and a reward for killing two notorious martial artists, he declined additional subordinates and learned that he ranked seventy-ninth on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking. He returned to the Geng-Character Office and set out to work more cases to build his strength.

• Jia Zheng reprimanded Jia Huan for serving in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, while officials praised him for killing two wanted fiends.
• The Southern Commandant Office awarded Jia Huan one hundred taels of silver and offered him command of twenty-six Strongmen, but Jia Huan declined the extra subordinates.
• Xue Pan praised Jia Huan and decided that he would arrange for either Xue Baochai or Xue Baoqin to marry him.
• Scholar told Jia Huan that the Dragon-Tiger Ranking placed him seventy-ninth and named three Embroidered Uniform Guard officers ranked in the top twenty.
• Jia Huan ordered his men to go work cases so he could gain more experience points.

Jia Huan confronted Wang Xifeng for wanting to take over three corrupt shops, then learned she had hoped to use them to ease tensions with the Eastern Mansion. He asked her to invest his seized wealth instead, while Ping'er worried that Jia Huan’s attention to Wang Xifeng might be more than respect.

• Jia Huan returned to the mansion, and Wang Xifeng asked him to remove the seals from three shops in exchange for three thousand taels.
• Jia Huan rebuked Wang Xifeng and explained that the shops were involved in tax evasion and other abuses.
• Wang Xifeng revealed that she had wanted the shops to soothe the Eastern Mansion, whose masters were cursing Jia Huan and making paper figures against him.
• Jia Huan thanked Wang Xifeng for her concern and asked her to invest the gold, silver, and jewels he had seized from mountain bandits.
• Wang Xifeng agreed to manage Jia Huan’s investments, and Ping'er privately warned that people might gossip about their closeness.
• Ping'er told Wang Xifeng that Jia Huan seemed to admire her as a woman, but Wang Xifeng insisted he felt only respect while Ping'er remained worried.

Jia Huan wrote a lyric that astonished Xiangling and Lin Daiyu, who doubted he could have composed it himself. Lin Daiyu decided to visit Jia Huan and test his poetic ability, while Jia Huan left to collect seized valuables.

• Jia Huan wrote a lyric for Qingwen and Xiangling after Qingwen challenged his ability to compose poetry.
• Xiangling took the lyric to Lin Daiyu, who praised it as the work of a master poet and recognized Jia Huan's handwriting.
• Qingwen and Xiangling confirmed that Jia Huan had written the lyric himself, though Lin Daiyu remained skeptical.
• Lin Daiyu decided to visit Jia Huan and test him, and she left Xiaoxiang Hall with Xiangling, Qingwen, Xueyan, and Zijuan.
• Jia Huan changed into his Flying Fish Uniform and went to the government offices to collect valuables seized from Old Dog Wu's estate and mountain stronghold.

Lin Daiyu visited Jia Huan to test his poetry, became impressed by his talent, and promised to keep it secret. Jia Baoyu tried to stop her from visiting Jia Huan, but she rejected his orders and walked away.

• Jia Huan returned home and found Lin Daiyu waiting to ask him for poetry advice.
• Jia Huan recited two lines inspired by Li Shangyin, leaving Lin Daiyu astonished and moved to tears.
• Lin Daiyu praised Jia Huan's talent, apologized for misjudging him, and asked to study his manuscripts; Jia Huan asked her to keep his abilities secret.
• Lin Daiyu agreed to visit Jia Huan for poetry advice and left after telling Xiangling only that his learning was good.
• Jia Baoyu confronted Lin Daiyu and forbade her from visiting Jia Huan, but Lin Daiyu rejected his orders and walked away.

Jia Huan accepted General Banner Qian’s case investigating Strongman Liu’s death and General Banner Zhao’s assignment to mediate a gang feud at Hundredfold Ferry. After learning both gangs were vicious criminals, Jia Huan prepared to strike them before continuing to Xinchang Prefecture.

• General Banner Qian asked Jia Huan to investigate Strongman Liu’s sudden death in Xinchang Prefecture, and Jia Huan accepted the case.
• General Banner Zhao gave Jia Huan a second assignment to intervene in the violent feud between two gangs at Hundredfold Ferry.
• Jia Huan sent Scholar and Twin Whips ahead to investigate while he and the others prepared to apprehend criminals along the road.
• At Hundredfold Ferry, Scholar reported that Giant Tiger’s Tiger Head Gang trafficked infants and Golden Toad’s Toad Gate preyed on residents and forced women into servitude.
• After learning the gangs planned another fight that night, Jia Huan ordered his men to eliminate the criminals and then travel overnight to Xinchang Prefecture.

Jia Huan arrived at a standoff between the Tiger Head Gang and the Toad Gate, exposed their leaders’ crimes, and killed them and dozens of their followers. He ordered the survivors investigated and the gangs’ assets seized, then gained new martial arts and experience from the purge.

• Twin Whips arrived with six other Embroidered Uniform Guards and ordered the two gangs to kneel, interrupting Giant Tiger and Golden Toad’s planned fight.
• Jia Huan killed Giant Tiger with the Bone-Melting Cotton Palm and killed Golden Toad with finger force after accusing them of serious crimes.
• Jia Huan had Scholar identify wanted gang members, executed Zhang Erhu and Li Tianba, and led the Guards in killing more than forty people.
• Jia Huan ordered the county office notified, told Scholar to investigate the survivors for accomplices, and assigned Fathead Fish, Drunkard, and Skinny Monkey to confiscate the gangs’ assets.
• Jia Huan washed his saber and received three forms of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, mastery of One Reed Crossing the River, and increased experience points.

Jia Huan investigated the death of Embroidered Uniform Guard Liu Strongman in flood-stricken Xinchang Prefecture and traced a lead to the Zhoulong Escort Agency. After learning the body may have washed downstream from Xinchang Dam, Jia Huan suspected the death was tied to the dam and set out to confront the agency’s chief escort.

• Jia Huan arrived in Xinchang Prefecture, confirmed Liu Strongman’s identity, and found that a powerful palm strike had killed him.
• Jia Huan sent his subordinates to investigate the flood and the people who found the body, while he sought information from Misty Rain Tower.
• A Misty Rain Tower informant identified the Zhoulong Escort Agency’s ancestral Palm Technique as a possible lead and warned that its chief escort was a powerful second-stage innate martial artist.
• Scholar reported that the flood followed a breach at Xinchang Dam, and Biaozi said Liu Strongman’s body had likely washed downstream from near the dam.
• Jia Huan suspected Liu Strongman’s death was connected to Xinchang Dam and led his team to confront the Zhoulong Escort Agency’s chief escort.

Jia Huan forced Chief Escort Zhou to confess that Associate Prefect Su Chongshan had ordered the Xinchang Dam’s destruction and the murder of Liu Strongman. With no warrant to arrest a fifth-rank official, Jia Huan decided to raid Su Chongshan’s private residence that night and torture him to secure evidence.

• Jia Huan confronted Chief Escort Zhou at the Zhoulong Escort Agency about Liu Strongman’s death.
• Chief Escort Zhou attacked Jia Huan, but Jia Huan defeated him and threatened his family until he confessed.
• Chief Escort Zhou revealed that the dam’s collapse was deliberate and that Su Chongshan had ordered Liu Strongman killed after he discovered the secret.
• Twin Whips recorded Chief Escort Zhou’s confession and obtained his thumbprint.
• Jia Huan decided to break into Su Chongshan’s residence that night because his team lacked the warrant and approval needed to arrest him.

Jia Huan raided Su Chongshan’s residence and forced him to confess that Right Vice Minister Yuan Yong had masterminded the Xinchang Dam destruction and grain-price scheme. Jia Huan set out for the capital with Su Chongshan, while his men pursued the other suspects.

• Jia Huan broke into Su Chongshan’s residence, subdued him, and demanded the truth about the Xinchang Dam’s destruction and Liu Strongman’s murder.
• Su Chongshan confessed that Right Vice Minister Yuan Yong of the Ministry of Works had backed the scheme and implicated Shopkeeper Qian, a grain merchant connected to Yuan Yong’s family.
• Jia Huan forced Su Chongshan to write, sign, and fingerprint a detailed confession.
• Jia Huan ordered Twin Whips and Biaozi to arrest Shopkeeper Qian and told Scholar to bring Escort Chief Zhou and Liu Strongman’s killer from the Zhoulong Escort Agency.
• Jia Huan took Su Chongshan and ordered his men to leave for the capital immediately to pursue Yuan Yong.

Jia Huan returned to the Capital with evidence implicating Yuan Yong in the destruction of the Xinchang Dam and brought his father, Jia Zheng, from the Ministry of Works to question him. Jia Zheng agreed to fetch a copy of Yuan Yong’s funding request, leaving Jia Huan with a crucial lead to complete the case.

• Jia Huan recovered secret letters from Su Chongshan’s study that showed Yuan Yong plotting the destruction of the Xinchang Dam.
• Jia Huan returned to the Capital, sent Su Chongshan and the other captives to the Imperial Prison, and took his men to the Ministry of Works to seek evidence.
• Jia Huan publicly took Jia Zheng from his office, then explained privately that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was investigating Yuan Yong.
• Jia Huan showed Jia Zheng the letters and Su Chongshan’s signed confession, then asked him for his copy of Yuan Yong’s request for dam-rebuilding funds.
• Jia Zheng agreed to fetch the document, and Jia Huan ordered Scholar to accompany him.

After Jia Mu’s household believed Jia Huan had arrested Jia Zheng, Jia Zheng returned unharmed and explained that his son had only questioned him as part of an official investigation. He praised Jia Huan, ordered Baoyu punished, and granted Huan a plot to build a larger residence near Wang Xifeng’s home.

• Lai Da told Jia Mu that Jia Huan had arrested Jia Zheng and taken him to the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Imperial Prison.
• Jia Mu, Madam Wang, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Zhen condemned Jia Huan and planned to seek help, while Lin Daiyu and Wang Xifeng worried about him.
• Jia Zheng returned unharmed and explained that Jia Huan had questioned him during an official investigation.
• Jia Zheng rebuked Madam Wang for insulting Huan and ordered servants to beat Baoyu for neglecting his studies.
• Jia Zheng gave Jia Huan an unused plot on the estate’s northern side for a new residence, leaving Qiao Ping'er concerned that it would stand beside Wang Xifeng’s home.

Jia Huan secured authorization to arrest Yuan Yong for the Xinchang Dam disaster, then executed Yuan Yong and Su Chongshan in the Imperial Prison. He left the remaining culprits to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and two new portraits appeared on his panel.

• Jia Huan presented his evidence against Yuan Yong to Official Guo, who obtained an Arrest Warrant and Approval Seal and ordered him executed without being allowed to implicate others.
• Jia Huan arrested Yuan Yong at the Ministry of Works, slapped him before the watching officials, and dragged him away after naming Xinchang Dam.
• Jia Zheng watched Jia Huan’s arrest and later explained the case to the Ministry of Works officials, who praised his son.
• Jia Huan executed Yuan Yong in the Imperial Prison before he could reveal who had received the embezzled silver.
• Jia Huan summoned Su Chongshan and killed him, ending the lives of the two masterminds behind the Xinchang Dam disaster; two portraits appeared on his panel.

After solving the Xinchang Dam case, Jia Huan was promoted to Hundred-Household Commander of the Celestial Pivot Guard and received a silver-white Flying Fish Uniform, a new saber, and access to the Case File Archive. His six subordinates chose to remain with him, and he planned to build his team and rise further through merit.

• Wang Zhenglun told General Banner Qian and General Banner Zhao that Jia Huan would replace him as Hundred-Household Commander, praising Jia Huan for exposing and bringing down corrupt officials.
• Jia Huan received his promotion, silver-white Flying Fish Uniform, Embroidered Spring Saber, and Identification Plaque, while Officer Guo offered his six subordinates the choice to transfer or stay.
• All six subordinates chose to remain in the Celestial Pivot Office, and Jia Huan welcomed them as his team.
• Jia Huan accepted General Banner Qian and General Banner Zhao's formal congratulations, then told his subordinates he would seek to transfer the two rival General Banners and promote two of them through merit.
• Jia Huan warned his six subordinates not to let competition divide them and sent them home to rest.

Jia Huan’s promotion to seventh-rank Hundred-Household Commander stirred pride, envy, and fear throughout the Jia household, while Concubine Zhao prepared to celebrate him. At the family feast, Jia Huan reunited with the household’s young women and heard Jia Zheng urge him to leave the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which he ignored.

• Jia Zheng confirmed Jia Huan’s promotion, announced a celebratory feast, and allotted him a plot for a new residence, while Concubine Zhao paraded through the mansion with gongs, drums, and firecrackers.
• Madam Wang worried that Jia Huan threatened Jia Baoyu’s position, Xue Pan urged Aunt Xue to consider him as a husband for Xue Baochai, and Jia Zhen refused to attend the feast after striking Jia Rong for suggesting reconciliation.
• Jia Huan returned home exhausted, slept through the night and most of the next day, then dressed with Qingwen and went to the feast with Concubine Zhao and Caiyun.
• At the feast, Jia Huan greeted Jia Mu, Xue Baochai, Lin Daiyu, and the others; he noticed Shi Xiangyun and You Shi among the guests, while Jia Baoyu remained sullen and the Eastern Mansion was absent.
• Jia Zheng advised Jia Huan to serve the State and Altars, keep studying, and transfer from the Embroidered Uniform Guard to a local government office, but Jia Huan ignored the lecture.

Xue Pan drunkenly announced that Xue Baochai would marry Jia Huan, provoking a chaotic confrontation at the banquet. Jia Huan slapped Jia Baoyu for insulting him and criticizing the court, then left with his attendants while Xue Pan remained determined to make the marriage happen.

• Xue Pan drunkenly declared that Xue Baochai must marry Jia Huan, embarrassing Baochai and enraging Aunt Xue and the Jia family.
• Jia Baoyu accused Jia Huan of manipulating Xue Pan and launched into a denunciation of Jia Huan and the imperial court.
• Jia Huan slapped Jia Baoyu and warned Jia Zheng that Baoyu's words could endanger the family and Jia Zheng's career.
• Jia Baoyu tore at his precious jade as Jia Mu and Madam Wang rushed to comfort him, while Jia Huan left the hall.
• Jia Huan told Xue Baochai not to take Xue Pan's drunken words seriously, then rebuked Xue Pan outside and departed with Caiyun, Qingwen, and Xiangling.

You Shi proposed that You Erjie marry Jia Huan, but Wang Xifeng and Concubine Zhao argued over whether she could enter his household. Later, Jia Huan recited a striking verse to Lin Daiyu during an evening stroll, leaving her entranced and Xue Baochai troubled by their apparent closeness.

• You Shi privately offered You Erjie as a bride for Jia Huan, and Concubine Zhao considered the proposal.
• Wang Xifeng rejected You Erjie as a principal wife or concubine, while Concubine Zhao insisted the girl could become Huan's concubine; You Shi left in anger.
• Lin Daiyu visited Jia Huan to demand the poem he had promised, so he walked her toward Xiaoxiang Hall and claimed he would compose as they went.
• Jia Huan recited, "Drunk, I knew not the sky lay in the water; a boat laden with lucid dreams weighed upon the river of stars," and Lin Daiyu was swept up in its poetic vision.
• Xue Baochai, Tanchun, and Shi Xiangyun saw Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu together, and Baochai felt distressed as she wondered whether they favored each other.

Jia Huan took charge of numerous nearby case files and assigned most of them to his subordinates while reserving fifteen for himself. At Rongguo Mansion, Madam Wang persuaded Jia Baoyu to recruit Sun Shaozu and Jia She to help retaliate against Jia Huan, despite Baoyu’s misgivings about Sun’s proposed marriage to Yingchun.

• Jia Huan visited the Experiences Office, selected nearly a hundred nearby cases, and had his seal stamped on them.
• Jia Huan kept fifteen case files for himself and distributed the rest among his six subordinates to investigate.
• Jia Baoyu complained to Madam Wang about Jia Huan slapping him and growing close to Lin Daiyu.
• Madam Wang proposed using Sun Shaozu to punish Jia Huan and securing Yingchun’s marriage to Sun Shaozu.
• Jia Baoyu reluctantly accepted the plan and agreed to go with Jia She to find Sun Shaozu.

Jia Zhen, Jia Baoyu, and Jia Rong recruited Sun Shaozu to humiliate Jia Huan after Sun refused to arrange an assassination. Sun enlisted the White-Haired Killing Demon to challenge Jia Huan, hoping to provoke him into a deadly duel, and they set out to act immediately.

• Jia Zhen and Jia Baoyu offered Sun Shaozu a chance to propose marriage to Jia Yingchun if he dealt with Jia Huan.
• Sun Shaozu refused to assassinate Jia Huan, citing his authority as an Embroidered Uniform Guard Hundred-Household Commander, but promised to humiliate him publicly.
• Sun Shaozu visited the White-Haired Killing Demon and asked him to challenge Jia Huan, who ranked below him on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking.
• The White-Haired Killing Demon agreed to insult Jia Huan and provoke him into signing a life-and-death agreement, in exchange for wiping out the Gao Family's debt to the Sun Family.
• Sun Shaozu urged the White-Haired Killing Demon to act immediately, and the swordsman warned him not to seek him out again afterward.

Jia Huan faced the White-Haired Killing Demon, a famed martial artist who challenged him outside Rongguo Mansion. After Jia Huan agreed to fight, the challenger produced a Life-and-Death Writ, shocking the gathered household.

• Jia Rong announced that the White-Haired Killing Demon was waiting to challenge Jia Huan, and Jia Baoyu urged the household to gather at the mansion gates.
• The White-Haired Killing Demon stood on Ningrong Street, and Wang Xifeng sent a page to summon the authorities.
• Xue Pan returned with news that the challenger had killed twenty-three Tatar heavy cavalrymen alone and was ranked fifty-fourth on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking.
• Jia Huan arrived as Wang Xifeng and Xue Baochai tried to disperse the crowd, but the White-Haired Killing Demon offered him the choice to kneel or fight.
• Jia Huan asked who had sent the challenger, then chose to fight, and the White-Haired Killing Demon brought out a Life-and-Death Writ.