Chapter Summaries

Jia Huan investigated the theft of 150,000 bolts of silk from the Jiangnan Imperial Textile Bureau, suspecting the White Lotus Cult and an insider. With the case threatening to send him to Northern Liang, Flower Devotee gave him a possible lead at Peach Blossom Island.

• Jia Huan accepted the assignment to recover the stolen silk and traveled to the Jiangnan Imperial Textile Bureau with two hundred elite men.
• Jia Huan examined the dead and found lotus tattoos on the suspected attackers, then concluded that someone in the bureau may have revealed the ships’ departure time.
• Jia Huan questioned thirteen people who knew the departure time and searched for leads, but found nothing.
• Scholar suggested using Sima Lin, the White Lotus Cult deputy leader’s son, but Flower Devotee told Jia Huan that Sima Lin had died in prison without revealing anything.
• Flower Devotee told Jia Huan that Peach Blossom Island disciples who swam underwater at night might have witnessed the river attack.

Jia Huan traveled to Peach Blossom Island to seek witnesses to the theft of 150,000 bolts of silk and defeated its true disciple, Xie He, to secure the island’s cooperation. Four witnesses revealed that people bearing White Lotus tattoos had been killed and planted aboard the ship, leading Jia Huan to conclude that the White Lotus Cult had been framed.

• Jia Huan and the Flower Devotee traveled to Peach Blossom Island to investigate the silk robbery.
• The island’s young mistress refused to cooperate unless Jia Huan defeated its true disciple, Xie He.
• Jia Huan unleashed Profound Insight Realm power and defeated Xie He with a single clash, winning the island’s agreement to help.
• The young mistress brought four martial artists who had been cultivating underwater near the robbery that night.
• The witnesses said the thieves had tied up people, exposed their lotus tattoos, killed them, and planted their bodies on the Textile Bureau’s ship.
• Jia Huan concluded that the White Lotus Cult had been framed.

Jia Huan traced the attackers who stole the Textile Bureau’s silk to a likely officer in the Grain Transport Governor-General’s Office and planned to investigate quietly. He withheld the lead from Tao Jinzhong so he could secure the credit and force the Directorate of Ceremonial to rely on him.

• Jia Huan questioned the four men from Peach Blossom Island and learned that more than a hundred disciplined attackers had spoken of reporting to a general whose surname could be Chen, Cen, or Cheng.
• Jia Huan rewarded the oldest man with martial arts manuals and identified eight senior officials as possible suspects.
• Jia Huan sent Scholar and Twin Whips to investigate the suspects, and Scholar found that Cen Quan, an assistant commander in the Grain Transport Governor-General’s Office, had a son at the Southern College.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to watch Cen Quan’s son but delay action and keep the lead from Tao Jinzhong, explaining that he wanted the case’s credit for himself.
• Scholar realized that Jia Huan suspected the Grain Transport Governor-General and would need the Jinling Garrison Eunuch’s military power to investigate him.

Jia Huan used Tao Jinzhong’s desperation to secure help from Wang Teng, then arrested Cen Quan in a nighttime ambush. Cen Quan resisted torture until Jia Huan threatened his son, leaving him to choose between confessing and the boy’s life.

• Jia Huan visited Li Shouzhong and explained that he was delaying the silk investigation so he would not alert the thieves.
• Xue Ke introduced himself to Jia Huan, while Madam Xue urged Xue Baoqin to pursue a match with him.
• After six days of social visits, Tao Jinzhong confronted Jia Huan about the stolen silk and his looming deadline.
• Jia Huan persuaded Tao Jinzhong to arrange military support through Wang Teng and promised to act that night.
• Jia Huan and the Embroidered Uniform Guards captured Cen Quan, who resisted questioning and tried to kill himself.
• Jia Huan threatened Cen Quan’s son, and Cen Quan begged him to spare the boy as Jia Huan demanded a confession.

Jia Huan raided Swallow Dock and captured White Lotus Cult protector Dugu Yuan after Cen Quan revealed the cult’s ties to Governor Zhao. The sweep uncovered a young man claiming to be the Zhejiang Governor’s son, giving Jia Huan another powerful lead as he prepared to return to the capital.

• Jia Huan pressured Cen Quan into revealing that Governor Zhao had ordered the silk raid and tolerated the White Lotus Cult, whose protector Dugu Yuan hid at Swallow Dock.
• Jia Huan shackled Cen Quan, arranged for Jinling troops and Beggars' Gang Eminences to join him, and rode overnight to Swallow Dock.
• Jia Huan led the assault at dawn, and the troops overran Swallow Dock and captured Dugu Yuan.
• After the Jinling troops departed, the Beggars' Gang Eminences searched the compound, uncovered hidden chambers, and reported that they had killed everyone else inside.
• Scholar found a young gentleman in a hidden chamber who claimed to be the Zhejiang Governor's son, and Jia Huan realized the discovery could bring him further merit.

Jia Huan used the confessions at Swallow Dock to target salt merchants linked to Governor Dai, then forced Sun Heting to describe crimes tied to Dai Chaozong. The chapter ended with Jia Huan asking whether one murdered censor had been surnamed Lin.

• Jia Huan learned that Dai Yuheng and other officials’ sons had visited Swallow Dock, and that their fathers included salt merchants with close ties to Governor Dai.
• Jia Huan ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest the major salt merchants before pursuing Zhao Hong, planning to use their evidence to expose Governor Dai.
• Jia Huan arrested Sun Heting at his mansion and confronted him with accusations that he had bribed Dai Chaozong.
• Sun Heting confessed to bribing Dai and described three suspicious deaths connected to Dai, including a censor who died after investigating him.
• Jia Huan asked Sun Heting whether the censor’s surname had been Lin.

Jia Huan uncovered evidence implicating Zhejiang Governor Dai Chaozong in a conspiracy that caused a salt-transport disaster, while Zhao Hong and Dai Chaozong plotted to obstruct him. As Jia returned to Jinling, fabricated accusations forced him to remain at the Jiangnan Guard Station, threatening to derail his investigation.

• Jia Huan ordered salt merchant Sun Heting to sign a confession and continue identifying evidence against Dai Chaozong.
• Zhao Hong abandoned his act of madness after his adviser warned that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was closing in, and he agreed to frame Jia Huan.
• Madam Dai warned Dai Chaozong that Jia was arresting salt merchants, and Dai decided to drive Jia back to the Capital before the investigation reached him.
• Jia Huan rode toward Jinling with evidence that Dai Chaozong and salt merchants had engineered a shipwreck that sent seven hundred thousand shi of salt to the bottom of the Qiantang River.
• Thousand-Household Commander Zhuge confronted Jia with accusations of molestation, collusion with White Lotus Cult rebels, and bribery, then ordered him to wait at the Jiangnan Guard Station for the Southern Commandant Office's decision.
• Jia Huan refused to stop his investigation, but Zhuge and Flower Devotee told him that he could not leave the guard station or receive soldiers from the Guarding Eunuch Residence.

Jia Huan was detained amid fabricated accusations, giving Zhao Hong and the Dai family time to destroy evidence and rally support. On the way to the Weaving Bureau, Jia Huan arranged an attack on himself, then used the public assassination attempt to demand an urgent investigation into the Zhejiang Governor and Canal Transport Governor.

• The Prefect of Jinling brought accusers against Jia Huan, and Thousand-Household Commander Zhuge took him toward the Jiangnan Guard Station under investigation.
• Zhao Hong learned that Jia Huan would be held for several days and planned to prepare for the coming battle, while Madam Dai decided her husband's safety mattered more than her son Yuheng's.
• Jia Huan wrote instructions in the Book of Impermanence for veteran masters of the Beggars' Gang to attack him, and Scholar rode away to carry them out.
• Jia Huan persuaded Thousand-Household Commander Zhuge to take him toward the Weaving Bureau so he could report on the Silk Robbery Case.
• An arrow struck Jia Huan in the shoulder in a crowded street, and he accused the Zhejiang Governor and Canal Transport Governor of sending assassins after him.
• The Prefect of Jinling arranged urgent dispatches to the Capital, while Thousand-Household Commander Zhuge and Flower Devotee recognized Jia Huan's move as a way to force a thorough investigation.

Jia Huan used an assassination attempt and an imperial investigation order to arrest Zhao Hong and Dai Chaozong in Jiangnan. After Dai admitted poisoning Lin Ruhai, Jia Huan ordered a wider crackdown on the officials and salt merchants tied to his crimes.

• The Southern Commandant Office ordered an urgent investigation into the public assassination, while the Grand Secretariat cautioned against arrests without conclusive evidence.
• Jia Huan learned the investigation order had reached Jiangnan, sent Eunuch Tao to recover boats at the Water Fort, and ordered troops to surround Zhao Hong's and Dai Chaozong's offices.
• Jia Huan arrested Zhao Hong at the Governor-General of Grain Transport Office, and Zhao insisted he had not ordered the assassination.
• Jia Huan arrested Dai Chaozong and questioned him about Lin Ruhai's death.
• Dai Chaozong admitted he had poisoned Lin Ruhai to keep him from exposing his crimes, and Jia Huan ordered Dai's family and the corrupt officials and salt merchants detained.

Jia Huan returned to the Capital with evidence and prisoners from his Jiangnan investigation, where the Southern Commandant Office confirmed he would not be transferred to Northern Liang. After Yan Yan and Zhang Bian were promoted for their service, Jia Huan prepared to take them to the Imperial Prison to execute the criminals.

• Jia Huan ordered the execution of witnesses who had falsely accused him, then gained martial rewards and advanced his cultivation by killing the imprisoned criminals.
• Jia Huan brought Zhao Hong, Dai Chaozong, and other prisoners and their evidence to the Capital, where officials from the Three Judicial Offices began reviewing the case.
• Commissioner Ouyang told Jia Huan that the Directorate of Ceremonial had blocked his transfer to Northern Liang because he had recovered the silk for the Weaving Bureau.
• Officer Fu announced Yan Yan and Zhang Bian's promotions to Hundred-Household Commanders, and the two tearfully thanked Jia Huan for giving them a new life.
• Jia Huan helped Yan Yan and Zhang Bian to their feet and told them to change into their new uniforms before going with him to the Imperial Prison.

Jia Huan executed three prisoners, gained a breakthrough to the second level of the Profound Insight Realm, and received a promotion to Deputy Thousand-Household Commander. He remained disappointed at being denied the Thousand-Household Commander post, but returned to his residence with his enlarged guard station.

• Jia Huan killed Zhao Hong, tortured Dugu Yuan before executing him, and had Dai Chaozong subjected to a thousand cuts after revealing his connection to Lin Ruhai.
• Jia Huan gained enough experience to reach the second level of the Profound Insight Realm and received the Heaven and Earth Great Shift at Peak Mastery.
• Jia Huan learned that the Grand Secretariat and Directorate of Ceremonial had blocked his promotion to Thousand-Household Commander because of his age and lack of experience.
• Commissioner Ouyang told Jia Huan that four hundred Strongmen had been added to his station, bringing its strength to 955 men.
• Jia Huan ordered Scholar and Twin Whips to search the Experiences Office Case File Archive for major cases, then headed back to his residence.

Jia Huan returned to Rongguo Mansion after avenging Lin Daiyu’s father, and Daiyu embraced him in gratitude before the assembled women. He later met Wang Xifeng at his new residence, where she scolded him for speaking shamelessly.

• Concubine Zhao welcomed Jia Huan home and checked the healed wound from his attack.
• Lin Daiyu embraced Jia Huan and wept after learning he had avenged her father; Jia Huan promised to seek a posthumous honor for Lin Ruhai.
• Jia Mu praised Jia Huan’s prospects and imagined that he and Jia Baoyu would bring the family glory through military and civil service.
• Jia Huan inspected his nearly finished new residence and asked Qiao Ping'er to bring Wang Xifeng to see him.
• Wang Xifeng met Jia Huan in the residence, and he told her he had missed her before she warned him to stop talking nonsense.

Madam Wang sought Wang Ziteng’s help against Hanlin Shen’s rival and asked him to find Jia Baoyu a renowned teacher, so Wang arranged for Shen Fu to tutor him. Shen Fu agreed to treat Baoyu as a younger brother, but refused Jia Zheng’s attempt to introduce his other son, leaving Baoyu convinced that he had surpassed him socially.

• Madam Wang complained to Wang Ziteng about her humiliation and asked him to find Jia Baoyu a celebrated teacher; Wang promised that he and Grand Secretary Cui would deal with their rival after the new year.
• Wang Ziteng arranged for Shen Fu, a second-place imperial examination graduate and Hanlin Academy Compiler, to visit Rongguo Mansion.
• Jia Baoyu failed to answer Shen Fu’s question about the Renchen Palace Examination, prompting Jia Zheng to scold him.
• Shen Fu agreed to guide Baoyu after the new year but declined to become his formal teacher, offering instead to address each other as brothers.
• Jia Zheng tried to introduce his other son, but Shen Fu refused, and Baoyu privately gloated that he belonged among respected scholars while his brother did not.

Jia Huan traced the source of Shen Fu’s medicine to the Mighty Prestige Escort Agency and learned that the purchases had been commissioned by the household of Left Chief Censor Liu Heng. He left with his attention fixed on Liu Heng’s eight thousand taels of spending.

• Jia Huan recognized Shen Fu’s medicine bottle as one from the Misty Rain Tower and ordered Scholar to investigate him.
• Jia Huan questioned the Misty Rain Tower’s elders and learned that the Mighty Prestige Escort Agency had bought medicine for blood congestion disease two years earlier.
• Jia Huan confronted Chief Escort Pockmarked Wang, who first denied knowledge before revealing that the Liu estate’s steward had commissioned medicine purchases.
• Pockmarked Wang told Jia Huan that the Liu estate had paid him eight thousand taels over five years, and Jia Huan identified Liu Heng as the household’s master.

Jia Huan investigated Left Chief Censor Liu Heng’s wealth and found a connection between Liu’s past assignment and Hanlin Compiler Shen Fu’s medicine. He traveled to Xuchang to investigate the mine disaster, but the Misty Rain Tower had no records and pointed him toward the Giant Axe Gang.

• Jia Huan ordered Scholar to investigate Liu Heng’s finances and threatened Jia Yucun into obtaining Liu’s impeachment records and travel itineraries.
• Scholar found no obvious source for Liu Heng’s wealth, while Twin Whips brought Jia Huan the records from Jia Yucun.
• Jia Huan noticed that Liu Heng had investigated the Xuchang mine disaster two years earlier, the same time Shen Fu said he had obtained effective medicine.
• Jia Huan took Scholar, Twin Whips, and forty elite men to Xuchang, then visited the Misty Rain Tower alone to ask about the Fugou mine disaster.
• The Misty Rain Tower had no information about the disaster, so its attendant advised Jia Huan to question the Giant Axe Gang.

Jia Huan investigated the Fugou mining disaster and learned that the official account concealed the deaths of 178 miners and the murder of County Magistrate Gu and his family. He brought former County Clerk Zhou from Shaolin Temple, where Zhou confirmed he had witnessed Mining Overseer Wu Xianzhong kill Gu.

• Jia Huan questioned the Giant Axe Gang leader, who revealed that Wu Xianzhong had forced miners into an unsafe mine, underreported the death toll, and blamed the protestors for the massacre of County Magistrate Gu’s family.
• The gang leader identified Wu Xianzhong as a Seal-Holding Eunuch of the Silverworks Directorate, and Jia Huan sought surviving witnesses to build a case.
• A Giant Axe Gang elder identified Fugou County Clerk Zhou as a possible witness, and Jia Huan sent Scholar and Twin Whips to retrieve him from Shaolin Temple.
• Clerk Zhou arrived at Misty Rain Tower and told Jia Huan he had witnessed Wu Xianzhong beat County Magistrate Gu to death.

Jia Huan investigated the Fugou mine disaster, gathering evidence that Wu Xianzhong had forced miners into the collapsing mine and that Liu Heng had helped cover up the crime. He learned that Shen Fu had betrayed the villagers who supported him and vowed to bring the witnesses to the Capital to seek justice.

• Clerk Zhou gave Jia Huan records of the mine victims and survivors, and Jia Huan vowed to personally punish Wu Xianzhong.
• Jia Huan and Clerk Zhou visited Li Ergou, who recounted how armed officers forced miners into the unstable mine, where nearly two hundred men died.
• After two days of investigation, an Embroidered Uniform Guard gave Jia Huan Wu Xianzhong's stamped order forcing the miners underground.
• Scholar brought villagers from Shen Fu's home village, who said Shen Fu had betrayed their complaint after they supported him through his studies.
• Jia Huan concluded that Wu Xianzhong had caused the disaster, Liu Heng had concealed his crimes, and Shen Fu had sold out the villagers, then promised to take the witnesses to the Capital.

Jia Huan arrested Hanlin Shen Fu while he was tutoring Jia Baoyu, prompting Baoyu to smash his precious jade and the Jia family to accuse Huan of sabotaging Baoyu’s examination prospects. Lin Daiyu doubted jealousy was the motive and suggested Shen Fu must have committed an offense.

• Shen Fu scolded Jia Baoyu for daydreaming during their lessons and promised he could prepare Baoyu for the provincial examination.
• Jia Huan arrived with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and arrested Shen Fu under imperial authority, despite Jia Zheng and Jia Baoyu’s protests.
• Jia Baoyu smashed his precious jade, and Jia Zheng, Jia Mu, and Madam Wang blamed Jia Huan for ruining Baoyu’s prospects.
• Madam Wang decided to seek help from her elder brother, while Jia Mu comforted Baoyu and condemned Huan’s character.
• Xue Baoqin and the other young ladies questioned Jia Huan’s motives, but Lin Daiyu argued that his authority gave him no reason to envy Baoyu and that Shen Fu likely had committed an offense.

Jia Huan exposed Shen Fu’s betrayal of the villagers and arrested Wu Xianzhong over his crimes at the Fugou Mine. After Wu confessed that Left Censor-in-Chief Liu Heng had accepted bribes and buried complaints, Jia Huan obtained evidence and set out to arrest Liu.

• Jia Huan confronted Shen Fu with a medicine bottle and the villagers he had betrayed, then forced him to sign a confession.
• Jia Huan entered the Silverworks Directorate and arrested Wu Xianzhong despite his protests.
• Jia Huan had Wu tortured and questioned him about Liu Heng’s role in the Fugou Mine Disaster case.
• Wu confessed that Liu Heng had accepted 88,888 taels in bribes and later demanded another 13,000 taels, and he revealed where evidence was kept.
• Twin Whips returned with two pieces of evidence, and Jia Huan ordered his men to arrest Liu Heng.

Jia Huan used witnesses and evidence to expose Chief Left Censor Liu Heng, then executed Liu Heng and Wu Xianzhong in the Imperial Prison. After returning to the Ping'an Division, Jia Huan heard the promotion bell ring as he prepared to become a Thousand-Household Commander.

• Liu Heng asked the Grand Secretaries to impeach Jia Huan for detaining Shen Fu, but Jia Huan confronted him with mine disaster survivors seeking justice.
• Jia Huan accused Liu Heng of taking bribes and concealing the truth about the Xuchang Mine Disaster, and the Grand Secretaries returned the impeachment memorial to the Censorate.
• Embroidered Uniform Guards seized Liu Heng, and Jia Huan submitted witnesses, physical evidence, and signed confessions to the Southern Office.
• The Directorate of Ceremonial and the Grand Secretariat ordered Liu Heng's immediate execution and sent Shen Fu to the Three Judicial Offices for trial.
• Jia Huan beheaded Liu Heng and Wu Xianzhong in the Imperial Prison, gaining the first five levels of Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.
• Jia Huan returned to the Ping'an Division, where the promotion bell began ringing to mark his elevation to Thousand-Household Commander.