Chapter Summaries

Jia Huan signed a Life-and-Death Writ and defeated the White-Haired Killing Demon before the Rongguo Mansion, stunning the gathered family and onlookers. He ordered the man taken to the Embroidered Uniform Guard’s Imperial Prison and offered to spare him if he named his mastermind.

• Jia Huan accepted and signed the Life-and-Death Writ despite Concubine Zhao, Xue Pan, and others pleading with him not to fight.
• The White-Haired Killing Demon demonstrated his strength by splitting the marble ground with his sword, then thrust at Jia Huan.
• Jia Huan blocked the sword with Maybe Leaping in the Abyss, disarmed his opponent, and struck him down with Crossing the Great River.
• Jia Huan planted his Skyward Boot on the White-Haired Killing Demon's face as the onlookers watched in stunned silence.
• Jia Huan ordered Twin Whips to take the defeated man to the Imperial Prison and sent Scholar to check his military merits.
• Jia Huan told the White-Haired Killing Demon he would spare him if he named his mastermind, while Sun Shaozu trembled in fear.

Jia Huan learned that Sun Shaozu had sent the White-Haired Killing Demon after him, arrested Sun Shaozu, and killed him after uncovering his crimes. The reward strengthened Jia Huan’s resolve to rise through the Embroidered Uniform Guard, while Sun Shaozu’s confession revealed Jia Baoyu as the instigator.

• Jia Huan learned that Jia Baoyu had notified people about the scene at Rongguo Mansion, while Xue Pan urged Xue Baochai to marry Jia Huan.
• Scholar confirmed the White-Haired Killing Demon’s identity as Gao Youjin, and the prisoner named Sun Shaozu as the man who had sent him.
• Jia Huan led thirty Strongmen to arrest Sun Shaozu and ordered a thorough investigation of his crimes.
• Jia Huan reviewed evidence of Sun Shaozu’s murders, rape, and bribery, then ordered him tortured and killed him in the Imperial Prison.
• Jia Huan discovered from Sun Shaozu’s confession that Jia Baoyu had instigated the scheme, and the reward for Sun Shaozu’s death increased his hunger for power.
• Jia Huan gave Twin Whips and Scholar the Wild Gale Saber Technique and ordered them to teach it to the other four brothers and then destroy the text.

Jia Huan confronted and beat Jia Baoyu after accusing him of conspiring to sell Jia Yingchun into marriage and have Sun Shaozu ambush him. After presenting a signed confession, Jia Huan was allowed to punish Baoyu, then reassured Yingchun that Sun Shaozu was dead.

• Jia Huan barged into the Court of Crimson Joy, dragged Jia Baoyu from bed, and beat him despite pleas from the maids and Li Wan.
• Jia Huan accused Jia Baoyu of colluding with the Eastern Mansion to trade Yingchun’s marriage to Sun Shaozu for an ambush against him.
• Jia Huan produced a signed confession, and Jia Baoyu’s silence convinced the gathered family and maids of his guilt.
• Jia Mu ordered Jia Huan to beat Baoyu, while Jia Zheng condemned his son and took him away for further discipline.
• Jia Huan told Yingchun that Sun Shaozu was dead, and she thanked him through tears as Tanchun regretted misjudging him.

Jia Huan learned he had risen to thirty-ninth on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking but remained focused on earning merit through his work. Xue Baochai visited Qingwen to ask about rumors linking Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu, and left relieved by Qingwen’s denial while Qingwen suspected Baochai’s interest in him.

• Scholar reported that Jia Huan had jumped forty places to thirty-ninth on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking, but Jia Huan dismissed the news and told him to work on a case.
• Scholar told Jia Huan that the Embroidered Uniform Guard would attend next year’s Martial Arts Tournament, but Jia Huan said he would consider it when the time came.
• Xue Baochai brought Qingwen pastries and rouge, then asked whether Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu had feelings for each other.
• Qingwen denied the rumor, defended Jia Huan and Lin Daiyu’s reputations, and refused to reveal Jia Huan’s secret talent for poetry.
• Qingwen asked whether Xue Baochai cared about Jia Huan; Baochai nervously asked her to keep their conversation secret, and Qingwen agreed unless Jia Huan asked her about it.

Jia Huan took up Gao Youjin’s report of a trafficking and Tatar-collusion case, while Yan Pu warned him about the deadly factional divide between the emperor and the Retired Emperor. After Jia Baoyu apologized for plotting against him, Jia Huan recognized the emblem from Gao’s report.

• Jia Huan’s pursuit of two Daoists earned him a breakthrough to the second level of the Innate Realm, and Gao Youjin came to report that traders had taken dozens of girls to the Tatars.
• Gao Youjin showed Jia Huan an emblem linked to the trafficking, and Jia Huan ordered his guards to investigate it in secret.
• Yan Pu told Jia Huan that he had been demoted and exiled to Ya Prefecture because of his ties to the executed Cao, then warned Jia Huan that future Thousand-Household Commanders would have to choose between the emperor and the Retired Emperor.
• Jia Huan returned home and found Jia Zheng making Jia Baoyu apologize for plotting against him.
• Jia Huan stared at Jia Baoyu’s face and suddenly remembered where he had seen Gao Youjin’s emblem.

Jia Huan identified a fan design as linked to Jiang Yuhan and sent Xue Pan to investigate its origin. Xue Pan traced it to the Water Mirror Theater, leaving Jia Huan intent on claiming credit for exposing the place.

• Jia Huan recognized Jiang Yuhan as the performer connected to the fan design and decided to have Xue Pan ask him about it.
• Jia Huan visited Pear Blossom Courtyard to find Xue Pan, and Xue Baochai questioned why he treated her differently from Lin Daiyu.
• Jia Huan promised Baochai he would spend more time with her, and Xue Pan arrived to take Jia Huan’s assignment.
• Jia Huan told Xue Pan to find Jiang Yuhan and learn where the fan design came from without mentioning him.
• Xue Pan reported that Jiang Yuhan had taken a fan bearing the design from the Water Mirror Theater, and Jia Huan praised him.

Jia Huan and Twin Whips tracked a Water Mirror Theater stunt master to a hidden compound, where they discovered more than a hundred captive children being prepared for powerful patrons. A guard spotted Jia Huan as the men brought out five boys, and the lean Tatar-looking man realized they had been followed.

• Jia Huan ordered the Strongmen to stay at the Celestial Pivot Office and took Twin Whips in disguise to the Water Mirror Theater.
• Jia Huan hid on the theater roof and overheard the stunt master being ordered to select five children.
• Jia Huan and Twin Whips followed the stunt master's carriage north, and Jia Huan continued alone when the route entered a maze of alleys.
• Jia Huan watched the stunt master enter a residence with a lean man and discovered an underground chamber holding more than a hundred children.
• The lean man and the stunt master brought five boys out of the chamber, but a guard spotted Jia Huan near the courtyard wall.

Jia Huan exposed the Water Mirror Theater's collusion with the Tatars, rescued more than a hundred abducted children, and arrested the conspirators. After the troupe master confessed to years of trafficking children and spying on Capital nobles, Jia Huan demanded the names of Great Qian officials involved.

• Jia Huan confronted Constable Wu and the gaunt Tatar, then accused them of selling girls to the Tatars and using catamites to spy on nobles.
• Jia Huan subdued Constable Wu and killed or crippled the attackers in the courtyard, capturing the gaunt Tatar alive.
• Jia Huan found more than a hundred children imprisoned underground and ordered his men to arrest the Water Mirror Theater troupe, search the residence, and investigate missing-child cases.
• At the Imperial Prison, Jia Huan tortured the troupe master until he confessed that the theater had served the Tatars for ten years, spying on nobles and trafficking abducted girls.
• Jia Huan asked the troupe master to identify the Great Qian officials who had assisted the theater, and the man said there were many.

Jia Huan exposed the Water Mirror Theater as a Tatar spy base, arrested and punished its accomplices, and gained powerful martial arts rewards. After reaching the third level of the innate realm, he resolved to keep working toward advancement.

• The troupe master confessed that officials and nobles had profited from the theater, and Jia Huan learned that the spies had gathered no secrets from the court's highest levels.
• Jia Huan reported the spy network to Officer Guo and submitted the signed confessions, earning an Approval Seal for arrests.
• Jia Huan led the Strongmen of the Celestial Pivot Office in arresting the implicated officials, who were brutally interrogated in the Imperial Prison.
• After the evidence was gathered, Jia Huan executed the guilty accomplices and received experience, seven additional forms of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms, and the first level of the Indestructible Vajra Inner Art.
• Jia Huan advanced to the third level of the innate realm, gained a formidable physique, and resolved to keep pursuing merit and advancement.

Jia Huan received a new two-gold-thread Flying Fish Uniform, command authority over thirty additional guards, and a Ninth-Rank title for his birth mother, Lady Zhao. At Rongguo Mansion, Lady Zhao celebrated her new status while Madam Wang seethed at the humiliation.

• Officer Fu awarded Jia Huan a two-gold-thread Flying Fish Uniform, access to Section Ding of the Case File Archive, and thirty strongmen for the Celestial Pivot Office.
• Officer Fu announced that the court had invested Jia Huan’s birth mother, Lady Zhao, as a Ninth-Rank Confucian Lady.
• Officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel delivered the decree at Rongguo Mansion, where Concubine Zhao initially feared she was being punished.
• Madam Wang grew furious and Jia Zheng worried about the household’s standing, while Concubine Zhao wept with joy over her new title.
• Concubine Zhao’s attendants called her “Madam,” and she delighted in her new status as Jia Huan returned from work.

Jia Huan’s promotion and Concubine Zhao’s court investiture prompted a lavish banquet, while Madam Wang swallowed her anger after Jia Mu warned her against challenging the Embroidered Uniform Guard. At the feast, Xue Baochai and Lin Daiyu clashed over Daiyu’s closeness with Jia Huan and left vowing to return each other’s gifts.

• Jia Huan told Concubine Zhao he had been promoted, and she announced plans to celebrate her investiture with a banquet.
• Jia Mu warned Madam Wang that protesting Concubine Zhao’s title would provoke the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Madam Wang abandoned her plan to submit a memorial.
• Concubine Zhao hosted a lavish banquet attended by Daiyu, Baochai, Wang Xifeng, Li Wan, and others.
• Lin Daiyu left the banquet with Jia Huan, and Xue Baochai followed after seeing them depart together.
• Xue Baochai reproached Lin Daiyu for having Jia Huan escort her, and the two exchanged insults until Wang Xifeng and Li Wan intervened.
• Lin Daiyu ordered Zijuan and Xueyan to return Xue Baochai’s gifts, while Xue Baochai told Ying'er to remove Daiyu’s belongings from Hengwu Court.

Jia Huan persuaded Lin Daiyu and Xue Baochai to reconcile, while Jia Baoyu grew furious at their closeness to Jia Huan and smashed his precious jade. Later, Jia Huan warned Wang Xifeng about possible trouble from her family and gave her a seven-colored jade hairpin, leaving her deeply unsettled by her feelings for him.

• Jia Huan persuaded Lin Daiyu to meet Xue Baochai, and the two women apologized and made up at the Introduction Pavilion.
• Jia Baoyu saw Lin Daiyu smiling with Jia Huan, then found her and Xue Baochai happily walking beside him; he hurled his precious jade to the ground in rage.
• Jia Huan visited Wang Xifeng and warned her that her legal mother might seek help from the Wang Family against him.
• Jia Huan gave Wang Xifeng illicit valuables to sell and invest in property, then placed a seven-colored jade hairpin in her hair.
• Wang Xifeng defended Jia Huan's intimate gesture to Ping'er, admired the hairpin in her mirror, and struggled to find peace.

Qin Zhong asked Jia Huan to free two former Water Mirror Theater performers, and Jia Huan released them after confirming they had committed no crimes. At the Northern Commandant Office, Jia Huan joined the Hundred-Household Commanders as they were assigned a sensitive murder case in Langya Commandery, where Commandery Princess Shouning had been assaulted and killed.

• Qin Zhong asked Jia Rong to introduce him to Jia Huan so he could seek help for two friends held in the Imperial Prison.
• Jia Huan reviewed the friends' records, found that neither had broken the law, and released them; Qin Zhong invited him to dine with his father, the Qin Construction Director.
• Twin Whips told Jia Huan that Thousand-Household Commander Qiu had summoned the office's Hundred-Household Commanders to discuss a major case.
• Qiu announced that Commandery Princess Shouning had been sexually assaulted and killed in her residence in Langya Commandery, then asked who would investigate.
• Seven Hundred-Household Commanders volunteered, and Nie Youshen offered to lead the investigation, citing his influence among the jianghu's various groups.
• Another Hundred-Household Commander volunteered after Qiu had considered Nie Youshen's offer.

Jia Huan accepted an eight-day deadline to solve the murder of an imperial princess, risking demotion if he failed. Jia Zhen, Jia Baoyu, and Madam Wang celebrated the prospect of his failure and planned to strip Concubine Zhao of her court-honored title, while Concubine Zhao and Wang Xifeng were left puzzled by Madam Wang’s confidence.

• Jia Huan pledged to solve the murder case within eight days or accept demotion to General Banner, and the Southern Office official gave him the case files.
• Jia Huan summoned Scholar, Twin Whips, and four other men, ordering each to bring five Strongmen and leave for Langya Commandery.
• Jia Zhen told Madam Wang and Jia Baoyu that Jia Huan had taken the case and faced demotion if he failed, prompting them to anticipate his downfall.
• Jia Zhen proposed impeaching Concubine Zhao’s Ninth-Rank Confucian Lady title after Jia Huan’s expected failure, and Madam Wang eagerly welcomed the plan.
• Madam Wang visited Concubine Zhao and cryptically promised more good news in eight days, leaving Concubine Zhao, Wang Xifeng, and Ping'er confused.

Jia Huan investigated the murder of Commandery Princess Shouning and used the Misty Rain Tower to identify the Four Poisons Sect’s young sect master as the likely killer. Facing a powerful sect and an eight-day deadline, he decided to recruit the Silver Moon Manor by offering more money.

• Jia Huan took charge of the crime scene, examined the bodies and footprints, and concluded that the killer had large hands, a damaged right index finger, and powerful jumping-based leg techniques.
• Scholar reported that Shouning had been respected and generous, while the residence showed no signs of theft, leaving revenge and profit as unlikely motives.
• Jia Huan offered the Misty Rain Tower two martial arts manuals and supplied his clues about the killer in exchange for help investigating.
• The Misty Rain Tower identified the Four Poisons Sect’s young sect master as a strong suspect, but warned Jia Huan that the sect master and his elders were formidable.
• With reinforcements from the Capital out of reach, Jia Huan chose the Silver Moon Manor as an ally and said he would offer enough money to secure its help.

Jia Huan recruited Duanmu Yuan with martial arts manuals and led the attack that destroyed the Four Poisons Sect and captured the commandery princess’s killer. After gaining a new martial art and reaching the fourth layer of the Innate Realm, Jia Huan ordered the evidence reviewed and prepared to return to the Capital.

• Jia Huan asked Duanmu Yuan to help eradicate the Four Poisons Sect, then persuaded him with martial arts manuals and the revelation that the sect had murdered a commandery princess.
• The Four Poisons Sect’s master learned that his son Lin'er had killed the princess and ordered his disciples to fight the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
• Duanmu Yuan and nine other martial arts leaders stormed the sect’s valley while Jia Huan waited outside, then Jia Huan and his men finished slaughtering the sect’s survivors.
• Jia Huan’s men identified Lin'er by his height, footprints, and missing finger, and Jia Huan ordered him tortured after the sect was wiped out.
• Jia Huan received the Nine Yin White Bone Claw and enough experience to reach the fourth layer of the Innate Realm.
• Twin Whips reported Lin'er's confession and the evidence against him, and Jia Huan ordered the evidence reviewed before the group rested and returned to the Capital.

Jia Huan returned to the Capital after capturing the murderer and was promoted to a sixth-rank post, while the Imperial Clan Court arranged an honorary title for his birth mother. Jia Zhen and Madam Wang mistakenly believed he had deserted and prepared to celebrate his disgrace as officials arrived at Rongguo Mansion.

• Jia Huan told Officer Guo that he had captured the murderer, and Officer Guo took his case dossier to report the successful investigation.
• Officer Fu and Southern Office officials promoted Jia Huan to a three-thread Hundred-Household Commander, gave him a new uniform and appointment, and assigned thirty more strongmen to his garrison.
• Officer Fu told Jia Huan that the Imperial Clan Court had secured an Imperially Appointed Lady title for his birth mother, and Jia Huan accepted the reward.
• Jia Zhen heard a false rumor that Jia Huan had deserted, then rushed with Jia Rong to Rongguo Mansion to tell Jia Baoyu and Madam Wang.
• Jia Baoyu and Madam Wang believed Jia Huan had fled and expected the visiting officials to punish him and revoke his birth mother's title.
• Lai Da reported that officials from the Ministries of Rites and Personnel and a eunuch had arrived at Rongguo Mansion, and Madam Wang ordered Concubine Zhao and the master summoned to receive them.

Jia Huan’s success in solving the imperial princess’s murder earned his mother Zhao the title of Lady of the Seventh Rank, humiliating Madam Wang and Jia Zhen after they expected disgrace. Jia Huan returned to the Jia household, punished Jia Baoyu and Jia Rong for slandering him, and left with Zhao as the family reacted to his rising status.

• Jia Baoyu told the household that Jia Huan had abandoned the murder investigation and would lose his post, while Li Wan and the young ladies worried about him.
• The Ministry of Rites official announced that Jia Huan’s mother, Lady Zhao, had been granted the title of Lady of the Seventh Rank, stunning Madam Wang, Jia Zhen, and Jia Baoyu.
• The old eunuch explained that Jia Huan had captured and killed the perpetrators of Commandery Princess Shouning’s murder, earning imperial favor for defending the Imperial Family’s honor.
• Lady Zhao confronted Madam Wang with thanks for supposedly foreseeing the good news, and Wang Xifeng announced that Jia Huan had returned.
• Jia Huan slapped Jia Baoyu for spreading rumors and struck Jia Rong after he admitted starting them, while Jia Zhen swallowed his anger and left with his son.
• Jia Huan led Lady Zhao away as she celebrated his sixth-rank official status, while Tanchun regretted her past cruelty and Jia Mu tried to comfort the humiliated Madam Wang.

Jia Huan visited Qin Zhong’s family, where he met Qin Keqing, then agreed to take Lin Daiyu to Mount Miaofeng to see its Purple-Leaf Thread Lotuses. He carried the exhausted Daiyu to the summit, where they reached the flowers and looked out over the Divine Capital.

• Jia Huan accepted Qin Zhong’s invitation to dinner and asked Qin Ye to design a residence for him.
• Qin Zhong introduced Jia Huan to Qin Keqing, then praised him and suggested she would be better matched with him than Jia Rong.
• Concubine Zhao told Jia Huan that Lin Daiyu had asked him to visit Xiaoxiang Hall, where Daiyu offered him her savings to fetch Purple-Leaf Thread Lotuses from Mount Miaofeng.
• Jia Huan proposed taking Daiyu to the mountain that night, and she agreed despite her nervousness about breaking the rules.
• Jia Huan took Daiyu out of Rongguo Mansion after the second watch and carried her up the mountain when her frail body grew tired.
• Jia Huan and Daiyu reached the summit, admired the blooming Purple-Leaf Thread Lotuses, and gazed toward the Divine Capital.

Jia Huan learned that Flower Devotee needed a Dragon-Tiger Ranking expert to assist with a major case and tried to replace Nie Youshen, the Southern Office’s chosen investigator. After officials rejected his request, Jia Huan challenged Nie Youshen to meet him at the Martial Arts Practice Ground.

• Scholar told Jia Huan that Flower Devotee had requested a Dragon-Tiger Ranking expert to help investigate a major case, and the Southern Office had assigned Nie Youshen.
• Jia Huan confirmed with Officer Guo that Flower Devotee had not named Nie Youshen specifically, but Officer Guo refused to change the assignment because Nie ranked higher than Jia Huan.
• Nie Youshen prepared to leave the capital with four General Banners and elite guards to investigate the case with Flower Devote.
• Jia Huan entered Nie Youshen’s office and demanded that he hand over the case, claiming Nie was too weak to assist effectively.
• Nie Youshen angrily ordered Jia Huan out, and Jia Huan calmly challenged him to meet at the Martial Arts Practice Ground.