Chapter Summaries

Jiang Xiaobai went to the palace for an audience with the emperor while scholars outside the Northern Guardian Marquis's Estate accused him of cheating to earn the Top Graduate title. As he arrived at the hall, he heard a court official demand that his title be revoked and given to Guo Zhan.

• Jiang Xiaobai declined to prepare further and left for the palace with Eunuch Gao, telling Jiang Jingcheng to stay home and rest.
• A crowd of scholars gathered outside the estate and abused Jiang Xiaobai, accusing him of buying or cheating his way to the Top Graduate title, but he remained calm and entered a sedan chair.
• Jiang Xiaobai and Eunuch Gao reached the Imperial Palace, where Jiang Xiaobai marveled at its grandeur before following Eunuch Gao toward the audience hall.
• Outside the hall, Jiang Xiaobai heard an official urge the emperor to strip him of the Top Graduate title and award it to runner-up Guo Zhan.

Jiang Xiaobai was summoned before Emperor Xiao Jinxuan as officials challenged his imperial examination victory and called for an investigation. After hearing their accusations, Jiang Xiaobai remained composed, and the emperor asked whether he had heard what his ministers said.

• Eunuch Gao informed Xiao Jinxuan that Jiang Xiaobai was waiting outside, and the emperor ordered him summoned.
• Jiang Xiaobai entered the Imperial Court, greeted Xiao Jinxuan, and noticed the hostile second- and third-place graduates, Guo Zhan and Zhong Yu.
• Official Chen and other officials questioned whether Jiang Xiaobai deserved the Top Graduate title and urged Xiao Jinxuan to investigate the examination.
• Xiao Jinxuan silenced the officials and asked Jiang Xiaobai whether he had heard what they said.
• Jiang Xiaobai answered that he had heard.

Jiang Xiaobai defended himself against accusations that he bought the Top Graduate position, arguing that a bad reputation alone could not prove guilt. Chen Zhanqiu produced a licentiate and An Zhiyuan, who accused Jiang Xiaobai of threatening him into leaking the exam questions and arranging a substitute writer.

• Jiang Xiaobai acknowledged that officials could reasonably doubt his reputation but argued that suspicion alone could not justify punishment.
• Xiao Jinxuan agreed that reputation did not define everything and asked Chen Zhanqiu whether he had anything else to say.
• Chen Zhanqiu claimed to have evidence and ordered a licentiate brought into the court.
• Chen Zhanqiu called on An Zhiyuan, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, who confessed to a crime.
• An Zhiyuan accused Jiang Xiaobai of threatening him, said he had leaked the examination questions and found someone to write Jiang Xiaobai's answers, and identified the kneeling licentiate as the substitute writer.

Jiang Xiaobai defended himself before Xiao Jinxuan by accusing An Zhiyuan and Chen Zhanqiu of corruption and mishandling the Imperial Civil Service Examination. He admitted a substitute took the exam in his place, claiming he had done it to expose wrongdoing, and demanded that An Zhiyuan and Chen Zhanqiu be executed.

• Jiang Xiaobai questioned the substitute, who said An Zhiyuan had recruited him and that he had never met Jiang Xiaobai.
• Jiang Xiaobai challenged An Zhiyuan’s claim that he had been threatened, arguing that the cheating scheme required help from officials across the examination process.
• Jiang Xiaobai accused Chen Zhanqiu of delaying his report and investigation until the cheating scandal had become public, making Chen Zhanqiu struggle to defend himself before Xiao Jinxuan.
• Jiang Xiaobai admitted that someone had taken the examination in his place, claiming he had deliberately joined the scheme to uncover corruption in the Ministry of Rites.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked Xiao Jinxuan to have An Zhiyuan and Chen Zhanqiu beheaded as an example.

Jiang Xiaobai defended his Top Graduate title before Xiao Jinxuan by offering to answer a question about the strained treasury and frontier military costs. After Guo Zhan and Zhong Yu proposed cutting expenses and surveying farmland, Jiang Xiaobai began outlining a different solution, leaving his four proposals unrevealed.

• Chen Zhanqiu and An Zhiyuan begged Xiao Jinxuan for mercy and accused Jiang Xiaobai of buying his rank and forcing blame onto them.
• Jiang Xiaobai claimed he had earned the Top Graduate title through his own talent and invited Xiao Jinxuan to test him on the spot.
• Xiao Jinxuan asked how to relieve the treasury's burden without harming the frontier army or raising taxes, and Jiang Xiaobai asked Guo Zhan and Zhong Yu to answer first.
• Guo Zhan proposed cutting unnecessary spending and correcting financial records, while Zhong Yu called for surveying farmland and rebuilding household registers; Xiao Jinxuan judged both plans flawed.
• Jiang Xiaobai said the court should draw wealth already circulating among the people, magnates, and merchants into the treasury, then announced that he had four proposals.

Jiang Xiaobai presented Xiao Jinxuan with four strategies to strengthen the treasury by taxing commercial profits, reforming military procurement, opening border markets, and improving financial accounts. He ended by accusing Chen Zhanqiu and An Zhiyuan of corrupting the civil service examination and urging Xiao Jinxuan to investigate the Ministry of Rites and execute them if the charges proved true.

• Jiang Xiaobai proposed taxing profits from lucrative industries instead of raising land taxes on farmers.
• Jiang Xiaobai called for open bidding and three-party inspections to reduce losses in military procurement without cutting Northern Frontier funding.
• Jiang Xiaobai proposed opening official markets in three border cities, directing thirty percent of proceeds to the border troops and seventy percent to the treasury.
• Jiang Xiaobai recommended redrawing local financial registers with a new numerical system, and Xiao Jinxuan ordered the new methods formally introduced if they improved audits.
• Jiang Xiaobai accused Chen Zhanqiu and An Zhiyuan of corrupting the civil service examination and asked Xiao Jinxuan to investigate the Ministry of Rites and execute them if the allegations were proven.

During the court debate over who should investigate fraud in the Ministry of Rites, Li Bingzhang backed Jiang Xiaobai and revealed that his daughter Li Zhiwei would marry him. Xiao Jinxuan approved the match and the investigation, but Jiang Xiaobai then asked the emperor to withdraw the decree and entrust the case to the Censorate.

• Chen Zhanqiu tried to speak, but Xiao Jinxuan ordered a thorough investigation of the Ministry of Rites.
• Li Bingzhang proposed that Jiang Xiaobai lead the investigation, and Tang Kui, the military officials, and Master Song supported the proposal.
• Minister Zheng and Chief Grand Secretary Meng objected, citing Jiang Xiaobai's proper place in the Hanlin Academy and concerns about the Jiang family's military power.
• Li Bingzhang said Elder Lin had taken Jiang Xiaobai as his disciple and asked Xiao Jinxuan to approve Jiang Xiaobai's marriage to Li Zhiwei.
• Xiao Jinxuan approved the marriage and the investigation, but Jiang Xiaobai objected and asked him to assign the case to the Censorate instead.

Xiao Jinxuan appointed Jiang Xiaobai imperial investigator of the examination fraud case and approved his marriage to Li Zhiwei, removing him from the Northern Guardian Marquis’s line of succession. As the military examination’s top three entered for the graduates’ mutual testing, Jiang Xiaobai recognized Tang Ningshuang and feared she would target him.

• Xiao Jinxuan appointed Jiang Xiaobai imperial investigator, with Pei Shen and representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Censorate assisting him.
• Xiao Jinxuan approved Jiang Xiaobai’s marriage agreement with Li Zhiwei and ordered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to arrange the wedding after the fraud case was resolved.
• Xiao Jinxuan removed Jiang Xiaobai from the Northern Guardian Marquis’s succession and left the estate’s title and military command to be decided by the court.
• Xiao Jinxuan summoned the top three military examination graduates for the traditional mutual testing against the civil graduates.
• Jiang Xiaobai recognized the martial graduate leading the group as Tang Ningshuang and worried she would torment him; someone nearby asked whether he had put on his armor.

At the imperial court, Martial Top Graduate Tang Ningshuang challenged Jiang Xiaobai to withstand her attacks without retreating or dodging. Jiang Xiaobai halted her before she struck and proposed a different test, leaving Tang Ningshuang to hear his idea.

• Xiao Jinxuan welcomed Tang Ningshuang, Qin Zhaoye, and Lu Chenshan, and learned that Tang Ningshuang had taken first place in mounted combat, personal combat, and archery.
• Xiao Jinxuan ordered the martial candidates to challenge the civil candidates first, beginning with Top Graduates Jiang Xiaobai and Tang Ningshuang.
• Tang Ningshuang, contemptuous of Jiang Xiaobai, raised her sheathed sword and challenged him to stand his ground against her attacks for half a quarter-hour.
• Jiang Xiaobai stopped Tang Ningshuang as she began to draw her sword and said he had a better idea, daring her to hear it.

Jiang Xiaobai proposed a six-person contest that tested judgment rather than brute force, then won by smothering the flames around his token without damaging the provisions. His victory impressed Xiao Jinxuan and Tang Ningshuang, while Qin Zhaoye challenged his methods and was silenced by Jiang Xiaobai’s defense of battlefield strategy.

• Jiang Xiaobai proposed that all six contestants retrieve command tokens from burning trays without using internal energy or damaging the provisions, and Xiao Jinxuan approved.
• Eunuch Gao prepared the trays, and Guo Zhan, Zhong Yu, Lu Chenshan, and Qin Zhaoye each failed to retrieve their tokens safely.
• Tang Ningshuang suppressed part of the fire with a teacup and reached for her token, but Jiang Xiaobai used a cup and wet paper to cut off the flames and won first.
• Jiang Xiaobai explained that water could spread burning oil and that fire needed air, impressing Xiao Jinxuan and Master Song.
• Qin Zhaoye dismissed Jiang Xiaobai’s victory as a clever trick, but Jiang Xiaobai called such tactics strategy, and Tang Ningshuang showed him less disdain.

After Jiang Xiaobai won the civil and martial contest, Xiao Jinxuan appointed the top civil graduates and heard the martial candidates’ preferred posts. Tang Ningshuang asked to join the Frontier Army and Qin Zhaoye requested the Northern Frontier, leaving Jiang Xiaobai wary of the motives behind the requests.

• Xiao Jinxuan praised Jiang Xiaobai’s ingenuity, and Tang Ningshuang conceded defeat before Jiang Xiaobai teased her about losing to him.
• Xiao Jinxuan appointed Guo Zhan as a Hanlin Academy Compiler and Zhong Yu as a Hanlin Academy Reviewer, while assigning Jiang Xiaobai to investigate the Imperial Examination case before deciding his Hanlin post.
• Xiao Jinxuan told Tang Ningshuang, Qin Zhaoye, and Lu Chenshan that the martial top three could gain experience in the Imperial Guards or Shadowguard Bureau.
• Tang Ningshuang asked to join the army at the border, and Xiao Jinxuan said he would consider her request after warning her of the dangers.
• Qin Zhaoye requested enlistment at the Northern Frontier, prompting Jiang Xiaobai to suspect his timing was connected to Jiang Xiaobai’s departure from the Northern Guardian Marquis’s line of succession.
• Lu Chenshan said he would accept any assignment, and Xiao Jinxuan deferred decisions on all three martial graduates’ appointments.

After court, Jiang Xiaobai retaliated against Qin Zhaoye for deliberately bumping into him, while Tang Kui backed him up. As Jiang Xiaobai and Tang Kui headed toward the Chancellor's Residence, the Elder Princess's palanquin stopped and asked whether he was the Jiang Family's heir.

• After court, Qin Zhaoye deliberately bumped into Jiang Xiaobai, who kicked him from behind and then slapped him when Qin tried to leave.
• Tang Kui confronted Qin Zhaoye, who backed down and departed after Jiang Xiaobai ordered him to get lost.
• Tang Kui praised Jiang Xiaobai and offered to take him home, and Jiang Xiaobai asked to go to the Chancellor's Residence instead.
• Tang Ningshuang said she did not want to share a carriage with Jiang Xiaobai, so he started to leave with Tang Kui without her.
• A phoenix palanquin stopped as it passed Jiang Xiaobai, and its occupant asked whether he was the Jiang Family's heir; Tang Kui identified it as the Elder Princess's palanquin.

Jiang Xiaobai met the Elder Princess, who congratulated him and invited him to her palace, prompting suspicions because his brother had warned him to beware of her. Tang Kui confirmed that she was a powerful figure and the most beautiful woman in Great Hua, while Jiang Xiaobai joked about preparing for a beauty trap; the group then headed out of the palace.

• Jiang Xiaobai learned that the woman in the phoenix palanquin was the Elder Princess and warily greeted her.
• The Elder Princess congratulated Jiang Xiaobai on becoming Top Graduate and invited him to visit her palace.
• Jiang Xiaobai questioned Tang Kui about the Elder Princess, and Tang Kui warned him not to provoke her.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked about the Elder Princess's appearance, and Tang Kui said she was the most beautiful woman in Great Hua.
• Jiang Xiaobai joked with Tang Ningshuang about resisting a beauty trap, then followed Tang Kui toward the palace gates.

Jiang Xiaobai learned that the Former Emperor had once passed the throne to the Elder Princess, who later yielded it to the current emperor. After Jiang reached the Chancellor’s Residence, Tang Kui explained why the emperor had granted him authority, while Tang Ningshuang insisted she would never marry someone like Jiang.

• Tang Kui warned Jiang Xiaobai that scholars resented his purchase of office, and Jiang said he would soon earn their admiration.
• Jiang asked Tang Kui about the Elder Princess, and Tang Kui revealed that the Former Emperor had intended his thirteen-year-old daughter to inherit the throne before she yielded it to the current emperor.
• Jiang privately suspected the Elder Princess might have had reasons beyond opposition from the ministers for giving up the throne, while Tang Kui advised him not to provoke her.
• Jiang arrived at the Chancellor’s Residence, and Tang Kui urged him to consult Chancellor Li before investigating the Ministry of Rites.
• Tang Ningshuang asked why the emperor had granted Jiang such authority, and Tang Kui said the marriage would bring the Northern Guardian Marquis’s Estate’s military power back toward the Imperial Family.
• Tang Kui teased Tang Ningshuang about finding a husband, and she declared that she would never choose someone like Jiang Xiaobai.

Jiang Xiaobai went to the Chancellor's Residence to see Li Zhiwei, but learned she was away and waited in her room. A young man then burst in, calling for Wei'er and announcing that something terrible had happened.

• Jiang Xiaobai entered the Chancellor's Residence and asked a maid to direct him to Li Zhiwei's quarters.
• Jiang Xiaobai found Li Zhiwei's personal maid, Qingyi, who told him Li Zhiwei had gone out and had not returned.
• Qingyi invited Jiang Xiaobai to wait in Li Zhiwei's room, where he noticed a portrait that resembled him.
• A young man rushed into the room and called for Wei'er, saying something terrible had happened.

Jiang Xiaobai learned that angry students had gathered at the Clear Pavilion over his purchased Top Graduate title and rumors about Li Zhiwei, while accusing Chancellor Li Bingzhang’s family of courting the Northern Guardian Marquis’s military power. Suspecting someone had deliberately inflamed the scandal, Jiang Xiaobai set out with Li Zhixing to face the students.

• Li Zhixing barged into Li Zhiwei’s room, introduced himself as her cousin and the Clear Pavilion’s manager, and angrily confronted Jiang Xiaobai.
• Jiang Xiaobai admitted he had bought the Top Graduate position but denied deceiving Li Zhiwei.
• Li Zhixing explained that students had blocked the Clear Pavilion and demanded Jiang Xiaobai lose his title, while rumors claimed Li Zhiwei would marry no one else.
• Li Zhixing described the Clear Pavilion’s support for poor students and said the protesters accused Chancellor Li Bingzhang’s family of trading Li Zhiwei’s reputation for military ties.
• Jiang Xiaobai suspected someone was deliberately stoking the accusations and decided to visit the Clear Pavilion with Li Zhixing.

Jiang Xiaobai entered the Clear Pavilion, where hundreds of scholars were protesting his examination results and demanding that Chancellor Li strip him of his Top Graduate title. After the crowd mistook Li Zhixing for Jiang Xiaobai and pelted him with an egg, Jiang Xiaobai admitted to buying his title and declared that he had come to silence them once and for all.

• Li Zhixing warned Jiang Xiaobai that the angry scholars at the Clear Pavilion might attack him, but Jiang Xiaobai continued inside.
• Jiang Xiaobai entered the crowded pavilion and saw denunciations demanding that Chancellor Li petition the throne to revoke his title.
• Jiang Xiaobai announced his arrival, but the scholars mistook Li Zhixing for him and hit Li Zhixing with an egg.
• Li Zhixing pointed out Jiang Xiaobai, who urged the scholars not to throw eggs and identified their demand for justice.
• Jiang Xiaobai admitted that he had bought his Top Graduate title and said he had come to make the scholars shut their mouths.

Jiang Xiaobai offered to give up his title of Top Graduate if the students could answer two intricate couplets, turning their demand for an explanation into a public challenge. The students fell silent before the puzzles, and Li Zhixing realized Jiang Xiaobai was far more talented than he had believed.

• Jiang Xiaobai agreed to surrender his Top Graduate title but said he had conditions.
• Jiang Xiaobai had Li Zhixing prepare paper and brushes, then wrote two couplet challenges and ordered them hung in the hall.
• Jiang Xiaobai promised to ask His Majesty to revoke his title if anyone could match both couplets, and demanded the students keep quiet if they could not.
• The students studied the character-splitting and meaning in the couplets and struggled to produce answers.
• Li Zhixing examined the couplets and stared at Jiang Xiaobai in shock, questioning his reputation as an ignorant good-for-nothing.

Jiang Xiaobai silenced the Clear Pavilion students who accused him of buying his Top Graduate title by challenging them to finish his couplets and condemning their waste and excuses. He then singled out a blue-robed student and ordered Li Zhixing to seize him.

• The students failed to complete Jiang Xiaobai’s couplets, and he rebuked them for throwing food in the Clear Pavilion.
• A blue-robed student accused Jiang Xiaobai of buying his Top Graduate title and undermining the Imperial Examination.
• Jiang Xiaobai admitted buying the title, provoking the students, then urged them to rely on hard work instead of blaming others.
• The students fell silent and ashamed as Li Zhixing realized Jiang Xiaobai had subdued the crowd with his words.
• Jiang Xiaobai asked the blue-robed student’s name, then told Li Zhixing to seize him.

Jiang Xiaobai arrested and pressured a blue-robed scholar who had incited the Clear Pavilion crowd, while using his new post as Imperial Inspector to warn the scholars against further unrest. The scholar finally agreed to reveal who had sent him.

• Jiang Xiaobai persuaded Li Zhixing to order the Clear Pavilion servants to seize the suspicious blue-robed scholar.
• The blue-robed scholar accused Jiang Xiaobai of buying the Top Graduate title and silencing critics, so Jiang Xiaobai slapped him repeatedly and challenged the gathered scholars to complete two couplets.
• Jiang Xiaobai announced that His Majesty had appointed him Imperial Inspector to investigate Imperial Civil Service Examination fraud, and warned that he could arrest the scholars.
• Jiang Xiaobai questioned the blue-robed scholar, then ordered Li Zhixing to send him to prison for suspected examination fraud, incitement, and slander.
• The blue-robed scholar broke under the threat of interrogation by the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate, and agreed to talk.